When a Baby Dies Before it’s Born

A set of emotive and sensitive editorial illustrations to accompany a BabyLoss Awareness Week. Using the parents point of view to explore the process and feelings involved in waiting to give birth to a baby who has died, from being told the bad news to delivery. Utilised by Tommy’s charity.

I have always enjoyed illustrating challenging and emotional subjects -finding ways to depict raw feelings in a real and sensitive manner.

Each illustration was presented with its accompanying text below:

1. I knew she had died before they told us. I just had to wait for those words to be said out loud ‘we’re sorry but we can’t find a heartbeat’

2. I just felt so blank

3. They gave me a pill to start the induction off. Although she’d died. I could sometimes still feel her move

4.  Everywhere I looked, there were babies

5. She was born looking like a perfect little baby four days after she’d died – this was not how it was meant to be

6. I always imagine her as a little blackbird keeping watch over us all now