A Salisbury woman who lost her baby at 22 weeks is taking part in the Stars Appeal Walk for Wards Wherever You Are to help families who experience the loss of a baby.

Meghann Blake explained: “In 2018, the day after our wedding, we found out we were pregnant with our third baby.

"Everything seemed fine until 14 weeks when one day I got out of bed and knew something was wrong.

"An emergency scan confirmed my waters had ruptured, but as there was still a heartbeat.

"Then at 22 weeks pregnant my cord prolapsed. We rushed to hospital, where it was confirmed that she had passed away.

“That same day we were taken to the Benson Suite in the maternity ward, an incredible place all funded by the Stars Appeal.

"The kindest midwives cared for me and my husband for the next three days. Without the Benson Suite, I would have had to deliver our baby on the normal labour ward.

"I would never have got through the birth and loss of our daughter Aria. They let her sleep next to my husband and I in a cold cot and we could say goodbye without feeling rushed.

"They took photos and made a beautiful memory box for us and helped us organise her funeral.

“We were terrified when we got pregnant again, so I was monitored all through my pregnancy.

"Grace, our fourth child, was born two months early in 2020. Because she was early she spent four weeks on the Neonatal Unit, where we stayed in the Stars Appeal’s parents’ accommodation.

"Now she’s a healthy and happy toddler.

“All my family (mum Meghann, dad Ashton and brothers Casey-Joe and Cameron and sister Grace) are walking to raise as much as we possibly can so that other families who need the Benson Suite or NICU will have what they need to get them through the most difficult of times.”

The Stars Appeal‘s Walk for Wards Wherever You Are takes place on Sunday July 4.

Participants walk 3k, 5k or 10k at a location of their choosing and get sponsored to help raise funds for Stars Appeal projects that support patients across Salisbury District Hospital and the NHS Staff who care for them.

All participants will receive a special certificate marking how much they have raised and there are special prizes for those raising over £100.

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