#2 Premature Twins, Neonatal Loss and Pippa’s Legacy with Ian Twitchett

In Episode 2 of Footprints on our Hearts, Ian Twitchett shares the story of his daughter, Pippa, and we discuss grieving as a dad and the charity he and his wife set up in Pippa’s name. We also talk about the National Bereavement Care Pathway, an NHS initiative to improve bereavement care for parents who suffer pregnancy or baby loss.

In this episode, we talk about:

• His twin daughters, Pippa and Penny, who were born at thirty weeks. Four and a half months after her birth, Pippa passed away in Ian’s arms at Martin House hospice. (06:05)
• How Ian and his wife, Hannah, grieved differently and how they supported each other. (36:08)
• How they remember Pippa as a family. (43:00)
• Setting up Pipsqueaks to help parents during their time on neonatal units. (48:45)
• Ian’s role on the Parent Advisory Group for the National Bereavement Care Pathway. (54:50)

You can find out more about the charity and Hannah have set up at Pipsqueakscharity.com.

You can find Ian and Hannah on social media at:

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/twinchetts/

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/twinchetts/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/pipsqueaksuk

In the introduction, I talk about the debate in the House of Commons on historic stillbirth burials and cremations. You can watch Carolyn Harris’s emotional speech here and read more about Brief Lives Remembered, a website that helps parents trace where their stillborn babies were buried, in this article.

If you enjoy the podcast, I’d really appreciate it if you could leave a review on your podcast app. You can connect with me on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/footprintsonourhearts/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/skyesfootprints) or email alison@footprintsonourhearts.com.

For a transcript of the podcast, please visit our website https://footprintsonourhearts.com/.