To lose a baby at any stage of pregnancy or shortly after birth is one of the hardest tests a human being can face in their lifetime. National statistics show that 20% of pregnancies end in early miscarriage and 11 babies are stillborn everyday in the UK and a further 6 babies die in the first few days of birth. Becoming pregnant brings with it all the hopes and dreams of parenthood and the shared future between parent and child. For us the pregnancy journey and dream ended in the loss of our beautiful baby son Ibraheem.
The loss of Ibraheem in the late stages of pregnancy in June 2018 is a deeply personal grief that has etched itself onto our hearts forever. He was our first born and perfect in every way. People tell you "you will get over it in time" but the pain persists, rarely relenting always there with you, a reminder of a future lost. We feel Allah (The Exalted) blessed us with Ibraheem and for the fleeting moments we shared with him in our arms we are eternally grateful.
To honour our son's memory and to create a lasting positive legacy in his name we created a baby loss pack which is culturally appropriate to Muslim families who have experienced the loss of a baby as a small gift of comfort called 'Ibraheem's Gift'. Wis given freely to hospitals and parents. We took inspiration from the 4Louis memory box we were given by our midwives at the Luton & Dunstable Hospital. The 4Louis memory boxes are helping so many bereaved families around the country but for us we felt there was a need to create a culturally appropriate baby loss pack for Muslim parents.
We initially raised funds for 'Ibraheem's Gift' through cake sales and compiled 20 packs which we donated to the L&D Hospital in November 2018. We then setup a fundraising page which raised additional funds which helped us produce and distribute packs for all our surrounding hospitals including Watford, Bedford, Milton Keynes and Northampton Hospitals. But our goal was always to make Ibraheem's Gift available to hospitals nationally and this goal we could not achieve on our own.
Making Ibraheem's Gift packs has helped us stay positive and focused on providing some small comfort to parents going through similar painful circumstances. We found comfort during our lowest moments safe in the knowledge we are helping others in some small way. Feedback from Muslim families and midwives who received Ibraheem's Gift has encouraged us to carry on with the packs.
The Ibraheem's Gift pack was designed in close consultation with our hospital Imam and contains the immediate necessities that parents would need to help them prepare for their baby's Muslim burial. As far as we know this is the only baby loss pack available in the UK which is culturally appropriate to Muslim families.
The items included in the pack are listed below and are sourced and put together with love and we acknowledge families may prefer to buy their own items for their baby, however Ibraheem's Gift is there to provide families with the immediate items to help with the burial process as Muslim burials happen very swiftly.
· Two 1mx1m pure white unstitched cotton burial shroud
· One plain white memory blanket
· One plain white baby hat
· One 5ml Attar bottle (scented oil)
· One Tasbíh (Prayer Beads)
· One 'Gift for the Bereaved Parent' Remedy for Grief from the Islamic Perspective, book by Zamir Hussain.
It is our goal that Ibraheem's Gift be freely available to all hospitals around the country so more families can benefit from Ibraheem's Gift and we are extremely grateful to the 4Louis child loss support charity who have kindly agreed to fund and produce Ibraheem's Gift packs and distribute them to hospitals nationally. Their
kindness and support has enabled us to come closer to meeting our goal of ensuring Ibraheem's Gift reaches as many bereaved Muslim parents as possible throughout the UK. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the amazing midwives at the L&D hospital for the compassion and care shown to us last year.
If you wish to make a donation to the 4Louis charity to help continue the production of Ibraheem's Gift packs and the 4Louis memory boxes then please visit the website below.
www.justgiving.com/campaign/IbraheemsGift
Thank you for taking the time to learn about our cause and for your support. We pray Allah (The Exalted) blesses you with happiness and joy.
Best Wishes
Ibraheem's Mummy & Daddy
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