Baby garden rededicated during hospital open day

West Lancashire MP Rosie Cooper has helped to celebrate the rededication of the Baby Garden at Ormskirk hospital, as part of a recent community open day. The Baby Garden was restored and replanted thanks to a local family raising funds after experiencing their own loss.


The garden is a quiet place near the hospital reception for all visitors but particularly those who have experienced a loss in pregnancy.


The Rev Martin Abrams, chaplain at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust conducted the service. It was attended by approximately 100 people, both hospital staff and members of the public.


There was a chance for families to plant “bulbs of hope”, in memory of lost babies. A forget-me-not area, created for “Our Never Forgotten Babies”, was especially created for parents who have never been able to discover where their babies were laid to rest.


Juliette Cosgrove, director of nursing, midwifery and therapies at the Trust also spoke at the service. She explains: “Baby loss is devastating and the experience can stay with people for the rest of their lives. So creating a beautiful space, in which people can remember and reflect, is very helpful.


“We’re delighted that this donation has allowed us to improve the garden, so it can be a place of solace and reflection for many years to come.”


Rosie Cooper MP for West Lancashire adds: “I was asked to take part in the formal opening and rededication of the Baby Garden at Ormskirk hospital. I am aware from my time as hospital chair at the Women’s in Liverpool just how upsetting and life changing the loss of a baby through miscarriage, neonatal or postnatal can be.


“Support for grieving families at this time is essential and providing places of reflection and remembrance such as this garden are just some of the ways I know Southport and Ormskirk Hospitals are giving that support.”