Diary notice: 9th-15th October.
Old Joe lit up in pink and blue to mark Baby Loss Awareness Week
The University of Birmingham’s famous clock tower, Old Joe, and Birmingham Women’s Hospital will be among buildings lit up in pink and blue around the UK to mark Baby Loss Awareness Week.
The annual awareness week, now in its 22nd year, aims to unite people who have been affected by pregnancy and baby loss and increase understanding of its impact.
It runs from 9th-15th October and is supported by numerous organisations including Tommy’s, the pregnancy and baby charity.
The charity funds Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research at the University of Birmingham, which carries out research with a network of specialist services for women who have experienced recurrent miscarriage. These include a clinic at Birmingham Women’s Hospital.
Old Joe will be lit in pink and blue for two nights from 9th – 11th October and Birmingham Women’s Hospital for the whole awareness week, from 9th-15th October.
Kate Davies, Associate Director of Information and Support at Tommy’s, said: “We know that women and families affected by pregnancy and baby loss can feel very isolated. There is still too much of a taboo around these painful experiences.
“Baby Loss Awareness Week is a time to show those grieving their losses they are not alone.
“Lighting up Old Joe and Birmingham Women’s Hospital in pink and blue sends that powerful signal across a city where so much is being done by researchers and clinicians to end the devastation caused by pregnancy and baby loss.”
Prof Arri Coomarasamy, Director of the Tommy’s National Center for Miscarriage Research, said “We are working hard to carry out research to provide answers to everyone affected by miscarriage and baby loss. We want to do everything we can to make a difference and to raise awareness and we hope that taking part in Baby Loss Awareness Week will help to bring hope to women and families.”
In a 2023 survey by YouGov for the Baby Loss Awareness Week Alliance, half of UK adults (50%) said they, or someone they know, had experienced at least one form of pregnancy or baby loss.
Baby Loss Awareness Week will culminate in a global Wave of Light at 7pm on 15 October, when everyone is invited to light a candle at 7pm local time as a special mark of support and remembrance for all babies that have died, and pregnancies that have been lost.
Anyone can join a digital Wave of Light from 7pm on 15 October by posting a photo of their candle to Instagram, Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #WaveOfLight.
For more information visit babyloss-awareness.org and follow #BLAW on social media.
Images and updates of next week’s illuminations for Baby Loss Awareness Week will be shared via social media accounts for Old Joe and the University of Birmingham’s College of Medicine and Health.
About Old Joe
Old Joe – officially called the Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower - is the tallest freestanding clocktower in the world, at around 100m tall. It sits at the heart of the University of Birmingham campus and is rumoured to have been the inspiration for Saruman in the Lord of the Rings, as one of the first widely visible electric lights in the area.
About Tommy’s
We’re Tommy’s, the leading charity that exists to stop the heartbreak and devastation of baby loss and make pregnancy and birth safe – for everyone. To do this, we work across the whole pregnancy journey to drive change at every level – translating our research breakthroughs into new tests and treatments in clinical care, changing national maternity policy and providing expert information and support for anyone who needs it. Together, with the strength of our community, we’re saving babies’ lives.
For more information contact tommyspressoffice@tommys.org
Professor of Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine
Staff profile for Professor Arri Coomarasamy, Professor of Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine at the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science, and Director of the Tommy's National Centre for Miscarriage Research.
