Hi, I’m Suzie. I live in Belfast, Northern Ireland (NI) and am ARC’s first Coordinator for NI. I am a qualified midwife and undertook a PhD in the area of prenatal diagnosis and loss with Queen’s University, Belfast, so could not be more honoured to work with ARC and continue working and supporting women and healthcare professionals in this area of practice. I work part time, but am also flexible to meet the needs of the job.

Suzie at her graduation with her family

There are a couple of key differences working in NI compared to the rest of Great Britain (GB). Firstly, NI does not yet have publicly funded first trimester screening, which is one of the key areas I am working on, to lobby government and health services to provide this important service.  Secondly, parents have only been able to access care in NI if they choose to end their pregnancy following a prenatal diagnosis since 2020.  Prior to that they had to travel to GB (or elsewhere).  As a result, services and access to information and support for both healthcare professionals and parents are less well established here. One of my primary tasks is to support the development of these services in partnership with the health system and other third sector organisations. I love the variety of my work which involves direct support for bereaved parents, delivering training to professionals, contributing to research and policy development, networking and building relationships with stakeholders including academics, politicians, women’s groups, baby loss charities and the five Health and Social Care Trusts in NI. No two weeks are the same!

My first priority was to establish a peer support network for bereaved parents (see our NI Instagram account here). Feedback from parents highlights the importance and value of having a ‘space’ where other people have experienced the same type of loss so that they feel that they are not ‘alone’.  Feedback from parents and healthcare staff has been really positive about the value and importance of having ARC in NI and that really motivates me in my work.

Here is an overview of what I got up to this week:

Sunday

Early start for a parent ‘forest walk and talk’, an informal meeting to help parents connect, share experiences and talk about their babies.  I organise walks every other month, usually at the weekend, in different locations throughout NI to try and be as inclusive as possible. We meet at 9am as it’s usually quieter, and two new couples joined us on this walk. It was lovely to see them welcomed by others and they begin to relax and engage in conversation.  No walk is complete without a stop for hot chocolate and biscuits, and I upped my game this week with the addition of mini marshmallows! One positive and unplanned outcome from the walks are the friendships that some couples have made.

Taken during ‘Walk and Talk’ meet-up

Monday

A parent who had been doing some fundraising gave me a cheque for ARC yesterday so first thing, I sent the cheque to our offices in London.  I flagged it with our Fundraising Development Officer, Katy, as we will work together on some suggestions to the parent on how their donation might best support ARC’s work in NI.  We are always so grateful for donations and the way many parents share their time and energy to support us.

I then visited a venue to consider its practicalities as I am hosting an event next weekend to support women focused on pregnancy and birth following a TFMR loss. Two women are coming to share their experiences and my aim is to provide a positive space to share experiences and support and encourage one another.

Sunshine outside a potential venue for TFMR support meeting

On Monday evening I met with volunteers from other local pregnancy loss charities.  We are part of a recently formed Pregnancy Loss Charity Collective in NI, which collaborates with charities and support organisations support each other and improve information about our respective services.  One of our current projects is to improve access to services through the development of a comprehensive information booklet for healthcare professionals about available services throughout NI.   This Collective has also provided much needed peer support for all of us as our work can be challenging and emotionally draining at times.

Tuesday

Today started with a call from a Bereavement Midwife about accessing support from ARC for a recently bereaved family.  I got in touch (with consent) with the parents and outlined what support our helpline could offer as well as what NI support was available.  I then set up a call with our helpline, providing the parents with details and reassurance ahead of time.  I often set up calls for families to the helpline as some find it daunting ringing a number not knowing what to expect.

I then had a meeting with our National Support Co-ordinator, Sally who is very experienced in supporting families. I wanted her advice as part of my preparation for the event next week on pregnancy after loss. Another meeting in the afternoon with researchers from Queen’s University Belfast.  The meeting was to discuss a research project exploring the training needs of staff caring for people experiencing pregnancy loss in a gynae ward environment.

Wednesday

Wednesday started with a quick meeting with Hannah C, Engagement and Development Coordinator, at ARC to plan for the next issue of ARC’s Newsletter for healthcare professionals.  We are a small team but there’s always a lot going on.

This was followed with a meeting with researchers from legal and social policy backgrounds from Ulster University.  We have been working on a project exploring the impact of the absence of first trimester antenatal screening in NI (unlike England, Scotland and Wales we don’t have combined screening or NIPT offered by the NHS).  Two stakeholder roundtable discussions were held in January, one with parents and the other with key stakeholders including healthcare professionals and academics, to inform a policy briefing paper.  This meeting was to finalise the paper, before sending to attendees from the roundtables for their comments.

The day concluded with prepping presentations for upcoming training sessions with medical students and midwifery students.  I went down a Canva rabbit hole – my technical skills in producing PowerPoint presentations have really improved since taking up this post!

Daffodils at the TTC, pregnancy and birth after TFMR support meeting