Woman who gave birth to two stillborn babies appearing in film about pregnancy lossBy zararubin | Posted: September 23, 2016
A Nottingham woman who gave birth to two stillborn babies is set to appear in a documentary about pregnancy loss.
Each year in the UK over 5,000 parents leave hospital without their baby and one in four pregnancies end in a loss.
Julie Cooke, 48, gave birth to a stillborn baby boy in December 2004 and then again in November 2005.
She said: "In 2004, I was pregnant with my fourth child, but the first with my now-husband Jay."
At 24 weeks, Julie was diagnosed with polyhydramnios, a common complication of pregnancy where there's an "excessive amount" of amniotic fluid.
She says she was monitored closely by the City Hospital Foetal Care Unit, and was given an earlier due date.
But on December 5 2004, Julie could no longer "feel her baby."
"The Friday before, I could feel him kicking furiously," she said. "And the next day, there was nothing."
Julie was rushed to hospital, where she was told her baby had died. "It was a 'cord accident'," she said, fighting back tears.
The couple had to wait two days before delivering their son, 'Jak Cooke'.
"We had everything ready for the baby, so I just sat there rocking in a corner in the nursery. It was horrific to go into a maternity ward, where people are having live babies, to give birth to a dead one," said Julie, who works in homecare at Nottingham City Council.
But the couple were determined to try again. "Not to replace Jak," explained Julie. "But to give Jay a child of his own."
Soon after, the couple were pregnant again.
In November 2005, however, the "unthinkable" happened – Julie gave birth to a second stillborn baby boy.
She said: "Death – and especially children's death – is an uncomfortable and uneasy topic, but it's important for people to talk about it and acknowledge it.
"People can turn off the tele if they don't want to watch it, but we can't turn off our memories."
While the couple were eventually able to have a child together, they decided to take part in the film, Still Loved – a documentary exploring baby loss, set to be released on October 4, coinciding with Baby Loss Awareness month.
The film's director, Debbie Howard, of Sheffield said: "The parents were very happy to finally have a voice. When a baby dies, it's still a baby. It's still a child that is loved, cherished and wanted. Parents feel they can't talk about their baby because other people don't know how to cope with it."
Earlier this month, the Post ran a story about another couple who had suffered a pregnancy loss, and had opened a centre for bereaved parents.
Martin Sommerville, father of the stillborn baby, said: "For us, and for many parents we've met, a maternity ward was the last place we wanted to be, so we began to dream of an alternative.
"Zephyr's promises to be a place of compassion where families can receive much needed support to help them recover from their loss."
Still Loved will be screened on October 20 at 8pm at the Broadway Cinema.
Read article in The Nottingham Post here
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