Couple's search for an answer to baby deaths

Oct 1 2007

A COUPLE whose baby boy was stillborn have raised £12,000 to help pay for an international summit meeting of childbirth experts in the Midlands.

Martin Brewin and Suzanne Stevens have donated the cash they raised in memory of their baby Barney to an international conference taking place in Birmingham today.

Barney was 'born sleeping' last November.

The couple, from Grantham, Lincolnshire held a sponsored walk in his memory and have campaigned to raise awareness about the grief they have suffered.

Now childbirth experts from across the globe have gathered in Sutton Coldfield to discuss how to reduce the number of stillbirths and deaths of young babies across the globe.

Healthcare professionals and bereaved families from countries including Botswana, the USA, Vietnam, New Zealand, Italy and Sweden have jetted in for the three-day conference.

Organised by the International Stillbirth Alliance, it is being held at the town's Ramada Hotel and Resort.

Transport for London worker Martin, 40, said: "We just hope that the cash we raised from the walk we did earlier this year may help them find some answers.

"Maybe one of the experts who attends the conference will hold the key of how to prevent other families having to go through this heartbreak.

"We hope the money we have raised will save lives."

One of the chief speakers will be Professor Jason Gardosi, from Birmingham's Peri-natal Institute.

Birmingham and the Black Country have suffered the highest rates of infant mortality and stillbirth in England and Wales for at least the last 10 years.

More than 500 young babies are dying in the two Midland areas every year, and research by the Institute reveals that many of the deaths could be prevented.

Researchers have found that poverty and lack of efficient maternity services in the region, including a serious shortage of midwives, are partly to blame.