A HEREFORDSHIRE woman who lost her baby has spoken of her heartbreak to help raise awareness of stillbirth and miscarriage.

Linzie Davies and boyfriend Liam Pugh, of Kington, were delighted when they found out they were expecting last September. It was the “perfect” pregnancy and nursery superviser Linzie, aged 25, could not wait to be a first-time mum.

But 38 weeks into the pregnancy tragedy struck.

Linzie noticed that her baby had stopped kicking, but within hours of getting to Hereford County Hospital, the couple were given the devastating news that their daughter had died.

Lola May Pugh was still born on May 15, just nine days before she was due.

Raising awareness for SANDS

While Christmas and New Year were hard for Linzie and 24-year-old Liam, the young couple are determined to remember their beautiful daughter who “grew her wings” too soon.

Linzie recently threw herself into organising a New Year’s Eve party at Kington Town Football Club in aid of SANDS (the Stillbirth And Neonatal Death charity) and is hoping that talking about her tragedy will help others and raise awareness of a subject she feel is still taboo.

“I loved being pregnant,” said Linzie, a superviser at Bizzie Lizzies in Eardisley.

“There were no problems at all. If anything, it was easy. I was ready to have a baby.”

On May 11, Linzie woke up feeling that something wasn’t quite right and that the baby hadn’t moved much in the night. She went to see her midwife, who found a heartbeat, but told her to keep counting how many times the baby kicked and, if still worried, to go to Hereford County Hospital that afternoon.

“By 5pm, I hadn’t felt the 10 kicks you’re told to expect so we went in,” said Linzie.

“We got to hospital and they started checking me. Three midwives later they couldn’t find her heartbeat. They did a scan and told me she’d gone.

“I freaked out, if I’m honest. I had this baby that I wasn’t allowed to keep. I wanted the nightmare to be over - this wasn’t how it was meant to be.

“She was born on Sunday afternoon. She looked like the perfect baby. She was beautiful.”

It was weeks before the couple felt ready to return home where their daughter’s bedroom and toys were waiting. It was during that impossible time that the messages on Facebook, flowers and cards reminded Linzie she was not alone, but she remains on the road to recovery.

“I sometimes feel like the elephant in the room,” she said.

“I’m the girl who lost her baby. People don’t really know what to say.

“But it shouldn’t be a taboo.

“In the UK 17 babies a day are stillborn or die just after birth. That’s crazy and there are often no answers.

“I’m hoping my story will help others, even if it’s just one woman whose world has just collapsed around her.”

Lola May is buried in her “forever bed” at Almley church, next to Linzie’s grandmother. Lola’s clothes, toys and pram have been packed away until her baby brother or sister arrives.

The New Year’s Eve party, which featured a performance from 2010 X Factor contestant Ellice Chidlow and a raffle with prizes donated by Herefordshire firms, went ahead on December 31, taking Linzie's fundraising total to £4,500.

Every penny will be donated to SANDS, the charity which supports bereaved parents and funds research into stillbirth and neo-natal death.

To help Linzie and Liam continue to raise money for SANDS go to weblink