Community Activities
Our caring staff from A H Rogers & Sons Funeral Directors, Eastleigh, have formally dedicated one of their remembrance chapels to babies and young children who have passed away.
Members from Southampton University Hospital’s Chaplaincy Department performed readings and blessings at the dedication, attended by bereavement midwives, representatives from baby loss charities, local businesses and 30 bereaved families, including parents, grandparents and siblings.
Funeral Arranger Lisa Wickes-Eales and Funeral Director Nicky Beach recognised two years ago the increase in parents who needed to use the chapel, and Lisa made the decision to redecorate the space solely for the use of parents and families who have experienced the loss of a baby.
The dedication ceremony was followed by refreshments, and Lisa made remembrance bags for the parents to take home, which included wine, sweets, chocolates and a poem written by Lisa and Nicky.
Lisa explained: “It is incredibly difficult to understand the grief a parent goes through unless you have experienced it personally, so we hope that by making the environment as calming and comfortable as possible, parents will be able to truly treasure the final moments they spend with their baby.
“The whole day was truly humbling, you could feel the love as you walked into the chapel. It was so empowering to have everyone come together to remember the angel babies who have used the chapel and those who will come to us in the future.”