Helen’s story

Helen lives in south-west London with her partner Gareth, her three-year-old Aerith, and their cat Bella. She spoke to us about how The Lullaby Trust’s resources support her in her work as a nurse, and as a mother.

Helen, Gareth and Aerith posing with Pikachu.

Gareth holding Aerith, looking over a barrier at a river.

Tell me a bit about you

I love to work out and run. I also like to spend my free time seeking out vegan gelaterias- it’s niche, but I love it! My daughter, Aerith, is three now. She’s so sassy and fiery!

What do you do for work?

I was a clinical nurse for over seven years and worked in paediatric cardiac intensive care. I’m now in more of a family support role and my specialist areas are bereavement and safeguarding on a general paediatric intensive care unit. I have seen several babies who have died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in this role, it can be very intense.

A health professional sitting on a chair, opposite a mum sitting on a chair with her baby on her lap, having a conversation.

How does The Lullaby Trust help you with your daily work?

I use a lot of The Lullaby Trust’s guidance in my day-to-day work to help me support bereaved parents. The Lullaby Trust’s guidance about how to communicate with a bereaved family really helped me, and is something I recommend to other healthcare professionals.

I’ve also used The Lullaby Trust’s safer sleep resources to support parents in keeping their baby as safe as possible. After a baby has spent time in intensive care, families are often anxious to make the best choices to avoid another admission. I think it’s important to bring up safer sleep and product safety in conversations with new parents at every opportunity.

I keep The Lullaby Trust’s leaflets in our family room so that when people are sitting and waiting, or are feeling a bit anxious, it gives them something to read. It means they don’t have to work too hard to seek out the information if they are super sleep deprived or overwhelmed – it’s just there for them. I hope that by reading and learning more about baby safety, they would feel more relaxed and confident that they are doing all they can to keep their baby safe.

The Lullaby Trust is doing so much good work in supporting families through what is a challenging and vital part of their lives to make sure babies are as safe as possible. I feel it’s so important in my role to help disseminate this information.

Aerith sitting on the sand at the beach, playing.

How did The Lullaby Trust support you as a mother?

I turned to The Lullaby Trust a lot when I was on maternity leave for Aerith. Specifically, guidance about what to dress her in depending on the temperature was helpful. I don’t remember learning this in my antenatal classes, although they did teach us about safer sleep. It’s also important to remember that these classes are expensive so are a privilege to attend at all. That’s why it’s so great that The Lullaby Trust’s guidance is free and so accessible.

The Lullaby Trust’s guidance was where I turned to for reassurance and for the most up to date safety information. It really did help me manage my daughter safely.

I helped Gareth to learn about why we’d sleep Aerith on her back, feet-to-foot, so he knew how important it was and could make better informed choices.

Aerith with her back to the camera, on the beach looking at a sunset.

How do you feel about talking to loved ones about safer sleep?

The research has developed a lot in recent years, so the guidance has moved on since my parents’ time. I sent the new grandparents The Lullaby Trust’s website to help them to learn. On my partner’s side, Aerith was the first grandchild whereas on my side, Aerith was number three. I have some family who work in the medical sector but both sides of the family appreciated the information, and they’ve learnt a lot. Some members of my family preferred to read more about the research and evidence base. It’s so important to educate people, particularly not just the ‘what’ to do, but the ‘why’ is important.

ਹੋਰ ਦੇਖਭਾਲ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲੇ/ਬੇਬੀਸਿਟਰ

Why did you choose to share your story today?

I think that it’s so easy for health professionals to get lost in the everyday duties. But if more of us were using the information available to us, such as The Lullaby Trust’s resources, or sharing the ਬੇਬੀ ਚੈੱਕ ਐਪ with parents, the families we work with can be even better supported.

I want to share that it’s normal for healthcare professionals to be anxious about things too. We see sick babies all the time which can be really difficult, and The Lullaby Trust is there to support us through this too.

ਹੋਰ ਜਾਣੋ

Clare wearing sunglasses and her Lullaby Trust vest, standing outdoors smiling at the camera.

Clare’s story

Clare ran the London Marathon this year with her daughter, Georgie, and her friend Emma. Clare ran in memory of her son Harry, who would've been 30 this year.

Mother sitting on a chair in a doctor's office with a baby on her lap, talking to a health professional.

ਪੇਸ਼ੇਵਰ ਹੱਬ

Information and resources for professionals working with parents with young babies and bereaved families.

Support for professionals

A woman is looking down at something on her lap, sat in her home whilst vaping.

Researching vaping and infant death

The Lullaby Trust and Teddy’s Wish are funding Dr Joanna Garstang's research, aiming to discover whether vaping could increase the risk of sudden and unexpected infant death.

An illustration of a hand holding a phone with the Baby Check app open by The Lullaby Trust. It is on a page saying 'temperature', with an illustration of a baby and a thermometer.

ਬੇਬੀ ਚੈੱਕ ਐਪ

Our Baby Check app gives you peace of mind, in your pocket. If your baby is under six months of age, you can use the Baby Check app to find out if they need to see a health professional.

You can support people like Helen

Donate today and your kindness will empower families with trusted and life-saving baby safety advice, as well as providing a supportive space for anyone who has experienced the the sudden or unexpected death of a baby or infant.

ਅੱਜ ਹੀ ਦਾਨ ਕਰੋ