Farnworth woman thanks “amazing” Bolton midwives after baby loss

His mother Jacki Shuttleworth, 34, of Farnworth, had been told he would not survive.

Jacki was moved to deliver her baby in the hospital’s Butterfly Room in the Harper Rose Room, a bereavement suite in the maternity unit.

She said: “In that situation, it’s hard to give birth in the delivery suite with all the other mums and babies when you haven’t got your child.”

Beau was only alive for 30 minutes.

She spent precious time with him but then was rushed off to surgery.

Jacki said: “I was poorly, I had to have immediate surgery for a retained placenta.”

She was moved to recover in the Maternity Unit away from her son and partner, Benjamin Jones, 30, of Wigan, because the bereavement suite didn’t have beds for “high-risk recovery.”

Ben Jones and Jacki Shuttleworth (Image: Jacki Shuttleworth)

She said: “By the time I’d come out of recovery and back, it had been quite a while after Beau died.

“And he changed a lot. It was really distressing.”

Her partner had to be with her son while she was gone.

She said: “Ben had to do so much. He was amazing.”

A baby and child loss charity called 4Louis had offered a way to grieve. Among other help, it provided the family with a memory box.

She said: “It gave us keepsakes and memories of our child, which is a special moment.

“Like taking measurements and dressing him in baby clothes.

“It was traumatic for Ben because he had to do the memory-making without me.

 “He had to take Beau’s handprints, footprints and bits of hair for the memory box alone.

“It ate me up that I couldn’t be there.”

But she was grateful to the Butterfly Room that helped every step of the way.

She said: “The bereavement midwives were amazing. They really supported my partner with doing the memory-making for my son.

“There was so much guidance through the trauma.”

She wanted to thank them for their exceptional support. And soon found a way. 

A room in the bereavement suite is to be converted for high-risk recovery so that mothers like her do not have to be separated from their family after surgery.

She decided to run her first 5K to raise £5,000 for it.

The 5K, called Beau’s Run, will be held on October 12 at Leverhulme Parkrun.

Anyone could join her to run, walk or jog to show awareness and support.

She said: “We want to bring families together who have been in similar situations.

“We hope to make it a fun morning and have matching t-shirts in Beau’s name.”

She said: “If we can get this high-risk recovery room put in the bereavement suite it would make a massive difference to families like mine.

“It means that mothers can go back to their baby and family immediately after surgery rather than being away for two hours.

“Time is of the essence in those moments.”

And she wanted to raise money for 4Louis as well.

She said: “The hospital doesn’t get funding for things the charity provides like memory boxes or custom-made baby clothes that make it a much easier process for families dealing with the death of a baby.”

Sharon White, Charity Director of Our Bolton NHS Charity, said: “It’s always so moving for our staff when families want to show their thanks for the care they received, even during the most difficult times in their life, by raising vital funds for Our Bolton NHS Charity.

“We send our thoughts and best wishes to Jacki and her family and are so thankful for everything they are doing to raise money.

“We’re always looking for ways to improve what we offer to families in our care, and we look forward to making sure Jacki’s donation can help us make a lasting and meaningful difference.”  

To donate or learn more, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-beau-run