“We knew something was wrong. The sonographer pulled away, put her hand on mine and said, “I’m sorry, there’s no foetal heart.” Ben grabbed my hand and we both had tears streaming down our faces. I wanted to scream, but I just clenched up as our sonographer looked for a cause. All I could say to her was, “It’s okay, it’s okay.” I look back and think: what was okay in that moment?”

Every day, six babies are stillborn in Australia. That is one in every 135 babies. For every one baby that dies of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), 35 are stillborn. In 40 percent of cases, the cause is never known. When Victoria from The Stillbirth Foundation Australia got in touch with me and shared these stats, I knew we needed to help. We ran a powerful story in our October 2015 issue of CHILD Magazines.

There are common associated causes, common risk factors and preventative steps your GP, OB, friends and family may be hesitant to share with you as a new mum-to-be so here’s what you need to know here and here, including advice on what to say when someone has lost a baby.