Flutterbyes
Our Flutterbyes support group provides families with ongoing peer support after their time with Hampshire Hospitals NHS Trust. We meet once a month at our Basingstoke base and this year we have opened a second meeting place in Andover.
The face-to-face meetings are a safe space for parents to come together and talk openly about anything. We know that coming to a meeting for the first time can be really daunting as well as the preconceptions of what a bereavement support group would look like! However, there is always a very warm welcome from parents who have been coming for some time and the structure is informal.
Many parents do not feel ready to talk, but just being in the room with others who have been through a similar situation, immediately creates a feeling of togetherness. We always make sure there is a craft activity – keeping your hands busy when you feel anxious can concentrate the mind and means you don’t have to make lots of eye contact which can be challenging in new situations when you feel vulnerable.
We have done so many different things in the Flutterbyes meetings over the years from having speakers in, to pamper evenings, quiz nights, wine tasting, yoga and sometimes if there are just a few parents it’s a case of sitting around chatting and really getting to know each other – the good days and the bad days are shared, we laugh, we often have tears and the peer support is incredible.
If parents want to talk about their babies or share their journey, they are very much encouraged but absolutely never forced to do this.
The Facebook group provides an added element to the support between meetings and we encourage parents to post on here.
