Baby loss—and the isolation surrounding it—is devastating. Yet sadly, support remains minimal.

That's why, after losing their son Louis, Jess Waugh, with the support of her partner Jim, founded Branch Baby Loss Network—a free platform offering meet ups and events to connect and support bereaved families.

With hundreds of members joining the platform within its first week of launch, we're coming together to raise funds to help break the isolation surrounding baby loss. This October, during Baby Loss Awareness Month, we’re launching a relay where a symbolic branch will be passed from one bereaved family to another, right across the UK. The branch will travel from the top of Scotland to the bottom of Cornwall, with each family tying a pink, blue, or white ribbon to the branch in memory of all the babies we've lost.

How You Can Help

- Donate: Your contribution will directly support bereaved families and help us improve our platform, expand our services, and support more people. Our aim is to raise £10,000 by the end of October. Please help us reach our goal!

- Request a Ribbon: If you’ve experienced the devastation of baby loss and would like a ribbon tied in memory of your baby or babies, simply make a donation of your choice. Leave a message with your preferred ribbon colour, your baby’s name if you'd like it to be written on the ribbon, and your Instagram handle if you’d like us to post a picture of your baby's ribbon and tag you on Instagram.

- Spread the Word: Please share this page and encourage others to get involved. Every share and donation helps us break the isolation surrounding baby loss and support more bereaved families.

- Join the relay: Please message us on Instagram @branch_babyloss or join the Branch Community to join our incredible 70+ families who are taking part in the Branch Baby Loss UK Relay!

Together, we can create a world where no one has to face baby loss alone.

Thank you so much for your support and please read on to learn more about Branch and why it was founded.

Love, Jess, Jim, and our amazing team of volunteers and Branch members who have helped to make this fundraiser happen, including Lisa, Leila, Laura, Rach, Grace, and TijMc. Plus all the incredible bereaved families and friends taking part. xxx

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The Impact of Baby Loss

One in four pregnancies ends in loss. Every day in the UK, more than 300 families experience a miscarriage, and eight babies are stillborn. For those who’ve been through this, the grief is profound, yet support is limited, if available at all. More than 70% of people who experience baby loss develop mental health challenges as a result, and one in four people who've experienced baby loss don't return to their jobs. The physical, emotional, financial, and economic burden of baby loss is huge - and without the right support, the emotional toll is even heavier.

At Branch, we understand how essential it is to have a supportive community—a place where you can connect with others who’ve shared similar experiences. Branch is that place. We offer free events, resources, and peer support for anyone affected by baby loss or infertility, helping to break the isolation that too often accompanies this grief.

Jess and Jim's Story

Losing Louis was the hardest thing my partner Jim and I have ever been through. We were almost six months pregnant when we found out something wasn’t right, and before we knew it, our world collapsed. We lost our son, and not long after that, we experienced a miscarriage, too. It was a dark time for us, and what made it even harder was how isolating it felt.

We wanted to connect with other parents who had been through something similar, but there didn’t seem to be an easy way to do that. We tried an online support group, but it felt a bit formal and overwhelming. Everyone’s experiences were so different, and sharing our story in front of a big group of strangers with all eyes on us, just days after losing Louis, felt daunting. What we really wanted was something more casual - a way to meet up with a few people nearby, who’d been through a similar experience of baby loss to us - to just go for a coffee or a walk, without the pressure of telling our story to a big group of strangers, scared we’d break down in tears.

That’s why we created Branch. It’s exactly the kind of support we wished we’d had when we lost Louis. A place where people can find and connect with others nearby who’ve experienced something similar, whether it’s early miscarriage, late miscarriage, recurrent miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal loss, termination for medical reasons (TFMR), ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, infertility—there’s a space for everyone in our community. We also have groups for different stages of loss, including trying to conceive after loss, pregnancy after loss, and parenting after loss - which can all be really challenging and anxiety-inducing times. On top of this, we have regional groups right across the UK, and it’s not just for women - Branch supports dads, grandparents, and friends and family, who are often overlooked when it comes to baby loss support.

Why We’re Fundraising

So far, Branch has been entirely self-funded by Jess, who has worked full-time to launch the platform since April 2024, following the birth of her daughter Lola the previous year. Hundreds of members joined the community organically within its first week of launch in June, highlighting the desperate need for this support.

That’s why we’re raising funds through this relay: to be able to keep Branch running and improve our platform for all those who desperately need it, because we think everyone deserves free access to support following baby loss. Our goal is to raise £10,000 which will help us to improve and expand the Branch network in two key ways:

1) By upgrading our platform which will allow us to support more people in an improved way.

2) By enhancing our services and support resources, such as being able to run more frequent UK-wide in-person and online meet-ups and events.

Both will help ensure that one has to go through baby loss or infertility alone.

Please donate whatever you can and share this page to help us reach more people. Every ribbon tied, every story shared, and every donation brings us closer to breaking the isolation surrounding baby loss.

With love and thanks,

Jess, Jim, and all the Branch community members who have kindly volunteered their time and skills to help organise and take part in this incredible community fundraiser.

Branch wouldn't exist without your kind support, and that of everyone who donates.

Thanks all! xxx

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If you’ve experienced baby loss or infertility:

Join Our Free Branch Community Here

Follow Branch on Instagram

Read more about Jess and Jim's experience of baby loss

Tommy's promotion of Branch