Our beautiful daughter, Emma Olivia Mansfield, was stillborn on the 6th June 2020, at 37 weeks and 4 days.

I went into labour that morning and by 7pm we were on our way to hospital. When we were seen by the midwife and she couldn’t find her heartbeat, it started a chain of events that has forever changed our lives. We had a doctor come in with an ultrasound machine, then a second doctor, and we were finally told the news that Emma had died. Albeit, our wonderful midwife had to stop the doctors talking between themselves before they confirmed to us that Emma had passed away. I could physically feel my heart breaking. My labour progressed quickly and at 9.52pm I gave birth to our beautiful sleeping daughter.

Stillbirth is something I knew very little about. I’d never considered it a possibility for us. It was sad, but it happened to others, not to us. That’s what I thought before. And now, it is us. We’re part of that statistic. The still birth club that no one really talks about, or not enough anyway. I’ve struggled with my grief, and openly talking about Emma, but I think about her everyday. I want to talk about her and I want to share our story.

I started running again in September 2020. It gave me something to focus on. No other distractions, just time on my own, with my own thoughts. I always think about Emma and I’ve had some beautiful moments in nature where I know it’s her way of saying hello to me. 

I never thought I’d run a marathon but here we are! Hopefully I will get round it…I’m running with my lovely friend Nicky and I’ll be thinking about Emma the whole way round. 

I wanted to do this in Emma’s memory and raise some money for SANDS. They’re helping raise awareness and supporting those going through what we’ve been through. If you can donate, please do. It is very much appreciated. 

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