Baby Loss Awareness Week has won Campaign of the Year at the 2024 GLOMAMA Awards.
Marion Currie, one of the co-founders of Baby Loss Awareness Week, received the Award at the ceremony in London on 2 March.
Baby Loss Awareness Week (9-15 October) is a campaign that aims to raise awareness of how pregnancy and baby loss affects thousands of people each year across the UK.
The campaign was founded by Marion alongside another bereaved mother Carolyn Bray, after they met through an online bereavement support forum in 2002. Marion's daughter Lesley had died in May that year and Carolyn's daughter Rebecca in June, and the two mums formed a close and lifelong bond. After Baby Loss Awareness Week had been established Marion sadly lost a second baby, Jon in 2006.
What began 22 years ago as a small group of parents crafting and selling handmade blue and pink ribbon pins, has now grown into a campaign that brings together millions of people from across the world to remember their much-loved and missed babies, and raise awareness of pregnancy and baby loss.
"This award is a tribute to all those bereaved mums who first came together in 2002 determined to create a space to remember their babies and raise awareness of pregnancy and baby loss in the UK. We wanted to make changes to practices and policy, to remove the postcode lottery in care and stop this happening in the future. I see it as part of our babies’ legacy for Lesley, Rebecca and Jon who have inspired their mums to do so much in their names."
- Marion Currie, one of the co-founders of Baby Loss Awareness Week.
Both Marion and Carolyn now work for Sands, the UK pregnancy and baby loss charity. Sands leads Baby Loss Awareness Week chairing an Alliance of more than 150 charities, who together with the support of the pregnancy and baby loss community of bereaved parents and families, and allies from across all sectors of society, continue to grow the campaign year on year.
Baby Loss Awareness Week is a unique opportunity to help bereaved people commemorate their babies, whether in public or privately, and feel less isolated and alone by giving them a safe and supportive space to share their experiences of loss.
“I’m very pleased that Marion could accept the award on behalf of us all, and all the babies we specially remember. The wonderful thing about Baby Loss Awareness Week winning this GLOMAMA Award is that it is voted for by parents. And it recognizes all the actions and efforts by bereaved parents to build Baby Loss Awareness Week into the campaign it is today, having an impact not only in the UK but around the world.
“So I’d like to thank each and every one of those parents and families, because this campaign is their campaign. No matter how big or small their involvement, they help ensure that we can break the silence that still, far too often, exists around pregnancy and baby loss. Together we’re a movement of people, remembering and making change.”
- Clea Harmer, Chief Executive of Sands and Chair of the Baby Loss Awareness Alliance
The GLOMAMA Awards are the worlds first people’s choice awards celebrating the achievements of mothers on social media. Dubbed the “Baftas” for mothers, we spotlight those who through their social media posts, inspire others to GLO, one post at a time.
You can catch up on video and photos from the Awards on the #GLOMAMA TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.
Find out more about Baby Loss Awareness Week and how you can get involved.