A heartbroken mum has shared the painful experience of losing her baby girl and how she is remembering her and giving back in a positive way.

Katie Worsley, from Westhoughton, went for her 20-week pregnancy scan as normal in May, but doctors said there was not any amniotic fluid, which surrounds developing babies, and her bladder was not filling up.

Katie, 31, and her husband David, 32, then had to wait six days for a specialist scan, which confirmed that Gracie had anhydramnios, when there is a lack of amniotic fluid.

The condition is universally fatal due to pulmonary hypoplasia, a condition in which the lungs are abnormally small.

The couple were then faced with the devastating decision of whether to wait until the due date or wait a couple of weeks to make a decision.

Katie said: “I had her and lost a lot of blood before I gave birth.

The Bolton News:

“I had to take a tablet and then return 48 hours later to have a pessary inserted to induce the labour.

“They looked after me and David.”

Katie says that she had moments where she knew something was not quite right when she could not feel Gracie moving.

She said: “With Gracie I could barely feel anything, and you should feel something 18 weeks on, especially with being pregnant before.

“I couldn’t have got through it without David, and he has been my rock.”

Gracie tragically died on June 1 this year at the Royal Bolton Hospital, and now the family are trying to raise as much money as possible, as a thank you for all the care and support they received.

Katie said: “This was the hardest day of our lives and the months following have had some of the darkest times, and we are constantly reliving it.

“The hospital has offered counselling, including four sessions funded by the bereavement unit.

“Without that I don’t know where I would be, and it really was a lifesaver.

“Raising money has given us something to focus on.

“We want to raise as much money as we can.”

David will also be taking on the Chester Marathon on October 8 and Gracie would have been due on October 10.

Katie added: “When it happened, it seemed quite fitting that he was doing a marathon two day later, and the week of the date is also baby loss awareness week.

“We are doing this for Gracie.

“But it’s an awful situation to be in and we wouldn’t want anyone to go through it.

“Without the support and the help, we got, it would have been a different situation and we want others to have that same support.”

Their 20-month-old daughter Millie is also taking part in the Chester Mini Marathon, which is a mile long.

Katie said: “It will be hard work because she’s a toddler, but we want her to know she had a little sister.”

To support the family’s cause click here (www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/GracieLeaWorsley).

If you have a story and something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at jasmine.jackson@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @JournoJasmine.