Name: Steph  Wild

Organisation: Beyond Bea Charity

Award Category: Inspirational Mother

Sponsored By:

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My Plea:

Before Bea, I was a Midwife, whilst pregnant with Bea, I was a Midwife and so after Bea was born, I was still going to be a Midwife. Except, I never quite imagined her birth would also be her death and that brought about more challenges.

I wanted to be able to do something for Bea, to honour her and remember her. And also, allow others to remember her, to give more meaning to a life that they never knew.

I decided to utilise the few things I did have and that could make a difference to others and all in her name. I created a programme and funded as much as I could to make the study days work and I delivered my first study day before going back to work (During my annual leave as that’s what I had to take as I would go into half pay if I didn’t because I missed out on maternity pay by 3 days).

Returning to work in the same place who’d cared for her, where I’d birthed her and ultimately had always felt like home, was a huge decision. I never knew if I could, but I did.

It’s now almost two years since Bea died and in that time, the charity has delivered study days to over 2,000 people. Bea may not be here but her name and her legacy are and it’s now known across the UK and helping make change to the bereavement care that families receive.

If you’d like to see more about the charity please take a look at our website www.beyondbea.co.uk

I stand by my motto and encourage every family, friend, professional and the public to be mindful that a life need not be long to be meaningful.

What Others Have Said

As a student and then as a practising midwife, Steph had always had an interest in bereavement care – even attending local Sands meetings as a student midwife to help support families. Steph was acutely aware that bereavement training for student and qualified midwives was sparse, inconsistent, often expensive, and that many students qualified and moved into midwifery jobs having had little (or sometimes no) exposure to bereaved families or bereavement care. This understanding was brought sharply into focus, of course, when Steph stopped being simply a midwife with an interest in bereavement care, and became a bereaved mother too.

Take a look at the video here to see a little more about mine and Bea’s journey.

https://youtu.be/8blToSYTCVA