A Highland mother, whose baby died less than an hour after he was born, told of her pain as she explained why she has helped to set up a new support group for bereaved families in Lochaber.
Leah Whyte , 35, of Caol, who lost her son, Iysa in March of last year, said the traumatic experience had been devastating for her and her three-year-old son Yusuf .
She explained that Iysa had been just 42 minutes old when he died at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.
She said: “I was rushed to hospital by ambulance after he stopped moving.
“He was born with a heartbeat and he was breathing, but he’d suffered a massive haemorrhage.
“I was still under a general anaesthetic so I didn’t get to see him.”
Miss Whyte said she came round and asked where her baby was to be told he had died.
“From that point until about 12 hours later I can’t remember anything.
“For a long time, it was just complete numbness.
“Everyone else was going about their normal life and I felt like I was in a bubble,” said the distraught mum.
She added that it had been a blessing that she had Yusuf as she had to get up to get him out of bed every day.
But she said he suffered too and kept asking where the baby was.
She added that she had been given a memory box for Iysa before she left the hospital, which included his foot and hand prints and photos of him. She was also given a leaflet about SiMBA.
SiMBA, Simpson’s Memory Box Appeal, works throughout the UK to help people affected by the loss of a baby at any stage of pregnancy or during or after birth.
Miss Whyte, who used to worked for the Scottish Ambulance Service, now suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and has been unable to return to work.
But she has become involved with SiMBA and has been instrumental in setting up a support group in Fort William.
It will be held at The Hub in Fassifern Road on the third Monday of every month from 7pm to 9pm, with the first session taking place next week.
Miss Whyte said: “It’s open to anyone who has lost a child, either during pregnancy or at any age after birth.
“It’s for parents, grandparents, siblings – anyone who needs to get something off their chest or just to come and sit with other people who understand.”
