Carrie Waddingham, from Leeds, received support from Sands after her twin babies died when she was 16 weeks pregnant in 2018, due to twin reversed arterial perfusion (TRAP sequence), a rare condition of monochorionic twin pregnancies.

She became pregnant again later that year and was cared for by the same maternity team throughout pregnancy and the birth of her son, who was born safe and well in 2019.

Carrie is backing our #AlwaysThere campaign for all women pregnant after loss to be offered the same maternity team to care for them and their baby, through pregnancy, birth and afterwards.

During our second pregnancy I suffered with severe anxiety and PTSD from the previous experience and my midwifery team were so good and I was able to get the right support for my mental health, extra checks and scans for peace of mind.

It was nice to always see members of the same team and I was really happy to see the midwife I had in community to induce my labour and then again for post-natal check-ups. It felt really nurturing and made me feel at ease in a really emotional and tense situation. It didn’t feel like I was on a conveyer belt but that my pregnancy and birth really mattered.

 - Carrie Waddingham

Known as Continuity of Carer, this model of care helps to save babies’ lives and create emotional and psychological safety for mothers and partners.

Although the roll-out of Continuity of Carer has been affected by the pressures of COVID-19 on the NHS, the pandemic has also highlighted the urgent need for this very model of care.

You can read Carrie's full story here and take action to help Sands ensure that Continuity of Carer is offered to all women who need it.