A kind gesture from a patient’s mother has been warmly received by Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) Maternity Ward, after the family faced a heartbreaking loss.
Raisa Scott-Wilson and Daniel Wilson of Platt Bridge, Wigan, welcomed their first child, a little girl called Samara in April 2024, who was sadly stillborn. After the loss of their daughter, the couple were put in touch with WWL’s Maternity Bereavement Team, an essential point of contact for the couple during this difficult, painful and emotional time.
In the summer of 2024, Raisa fell pregnant again and the pair were understandably worried and anxious about the pregnancy. The couple attended regular scans at the Rainbow Clinic located at the Thomas Linacre Centre and had close contact with the Maternity Bereavement Team, including Bereavement Midwives, Sam Barnsley and Cheryl Phillips.
“We provide very personal, individualised care within our Rainbow Clinic with a Consultant Lead and the Bereavement Team. This can sometimes come as a comfort to families who have experienced a late foetal loss, stillbirth or Neonatal death” said Bereavement Midwife, Sam.
“At one of Raisa’s antenatal appointments, she was wearing a gorgeous, coloured crochet scarf and I complimented her on it,” she continued, “It was a beautiful scarf that I noticed straight away, and Raisa told me that her mum crocheted it for her.”
It was then that Sam and Raisa suggested to Raisa’s mum, Hazel, about crocheting some rainbow hats for rainbow babies, a child born to a family that has previously experienced a late foetal loss, stillbirth or Neonatal death. This small act would help staff know that the family have given birth to a baby after a previous loss, and would be able to provide extra support, if needed. It can also be an indication to be extra sensitive for those visiting who don’t know about the history. These hats will also alert and highlight to staff as well as additional professionals to offer extra support to the parents, if needed.
Sam said: “Our staff will know that the mother will be giving birth to a rainbow baby throughout the pregnancy and on admission as there will be a sticker in their clinical notes, however the hand-made hat is that little bit more special and will definitely be a keepsake for the memory boxes.”
Raisa and Daniel welcomed their beautiful rainbow baby, a little boy, Gabriel Isaiah Scott-Wilson, on the evening of Thursday 13th March 2025. The Maternity Ward and Bereavement Team wanted their baby to be the first to wear the rainbow hat, especially as it came with love from his nana Hazel.
The hats come in all different sizes, including for premature babies, and each one takes roughly an hour to make. Hazel has kindly donated 20 hats to our Maternity Ward at the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in the hopes this will bring a smile to the faces of families. As well as Gabriel being the first baby boy to wear his nana’s hat, another family, Finlay Hunt and Jordan Bamford welcomed their Rainbow baby girl, Elora Juliette, into the world on Saturday 29th March. Elora is the first baby girl to wear the Rainbow hat at WWL.