Midwife whose own baby loss spurred her to help others opens high street family hub

A MIDWIFE who set up a baby bereavement charity in her stillborn daughter's name is opening a new kind of family hub in Northwich.

Steph Wild’s daughter, Bea, was diagnosed with a rare brain condition in the womb at just 23 weeks old, and was stillborn in November 2017.

Once the dust began to settle, the trauma of the experience left Steph, whose whole career has been spent working as a midwife specialising in baby loss, facing some difficult decisions.

“It felt like I had a choice to leave midwifery entirely, or I could let it fuel my fire,” the 30-year-old said.

“It turned out to be the latter.”

Steph used some of that fire set up a charity, Beyond Bea, as a tribute to her daughter, which offers free training to clinicians and students on how best to support families experiencing baby and child loss.

Steph, who moved from Manchester to Northwich two years ago, is now taking her project a step further.

On Saturday, July 27, she’s opening a new kind of family hub on High Street in Northwich town centre.

Midwife Steph set up the charity after experiencing baby loss personally in November 2017 (Image: Steph Wild)

Bea's Place will be both a new base from her training services, and and a safe place for all families to bring their children with the option to access a range of services.

Based in the former Nationwide bank on High Street, it will have a play café for babies through to six-year-olds, a sensory room for all ages, and a community space hosting a range of parent and child-related classes and events.

It will also have therapy room where Steph will deliver birth debriefings and counselling services, and a treatment room for services like specialist pelvic health physiotherapy.

Steph has worked as a midwife specialising in baby loss for her whole career (Image: Steph Wild)

Bea's Place will offer both free and payable services, but Steph says she’ll be keeping things affordable.

She added: “We’re aiming to attract parents and families who need a space in the community where they can access a range of support services.

“It’s helpful to know there are others who understand what you’re going through, especially new parents, who can feel quite isolated.

Bea's Place has found a home in the old Nationwide bank on High Street (Image: Steph Wild)

“Our pricing is going to be accessible so as many people as possible feel they can come and use the space.”

As CEO of Beyond Bea, Steph is investing a huge amount of time and money into Bea’s Place while, for now at least, still working clinically as a midwife.

She added: “I’ve invested a lot personally into the project because I think it’s important our community has a space like this. It felt right to do it in my home area.

“There are other places you can take children to play, but there isn’t a place where you can also access such a wide range of support.”