'I was terrified to talk about my daughter': The garden breaking the baby loss taboo

For a long time, Emily Kinber found it difficult to talk about her daughter Hallie, who died four hours after she was born.

Now, she says a memorial garden created by bereaved parents has given her the confidence to share her story.

"I was absolutely terrified at first to be able to speak about Hallie, but since joining the Pickering Foundation we've become one big community and it's so positive," she said.

The Little Footprints in the Sky memorial garden opened at Jubilee Woods in Dawley Bank, Telford, in April after founders Shaun Pickering and Katie Stuart lost their baby, Sky, in 2024.

Emily, from Crudgington, said the garden had become much more than a place of remembrance.

"You can just sit here in your feelings, quietly, listening to the birds and just remember your baby, it's really beautiful," she said.

The mother believes the space is helping to break down what she described as the "taboo" around baby loss by bringing together families with shared experiences.

"It's kind of a taboo subject so not many people like speaking about baby loss and not many people know what to say," Emily said.

"It's nice to have some other people that are on the same level as you and you can be open and honest and speak about how you're feeling.

"People don't feel so frightened now, so if somebody asks how many babies you've had, people feel the confidence now to say I've had two babies, one in heaven and one earthside."

Shaun and Katie set up the Pickering Foundation shortly after losing Sky, with the aim of raising enough money to create the memorial garden.

Shaun said he found there was no dedicated space for families affected by baby loss in the area.

"I was actually surprised there wasn't something like this already in Telford, so to be able deliver something like this, on this scale and make a difference to so many families, it's a massive achievement for us," he said.

Since opening, more than 80 leaf-shaped memorial plaques have been added to a steel tree at the centre of the garden.

"A lot of families have got in touch with us to say how much of a difference it's made, they wish it was something that had happened years ago, we've even got plaques that date back to 1964," Shaun said.

"It just shows that we've achieved what we wanted to do, to give families a place to come and remember their loved ones."

The couple have continued to develop the site after securing a National Lottery grant over the summer, adding a decking area with picnic benches and planting more hedges to create a greater sense of privacy throughout the year.

For Emily, though, the garden's greatest value is the opportunity it gives families to keep the memory of their children alive.

"It's really brilliant to be able to see Hallie's and all the other babies' names and explain what happened to her and how this is our special place to come and remember her," she said.

She added that it would also help her share Hallie's story with her younger son as he grows up.

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