Irish people are “getting better” at talking about the huge grief that comes with baby loss, a bereaved mother has said. 

Every year in Ireland, 400 babies are stillborn or die soon after birth. Previously, parents were often told not to talk about their grief and encouraged to get on with their lives. 

However, slowly, things are changing and tomorrow 120 buildings in Ireland will be lit up in blue and pink as part of a Global Wave of Light to mark Baby Loss Awareness Day. 

Nina Farrelly is Irish coordinator of the Wave of Light and is encouraging people to join in by lighting a candle at home.

“It’s quite significant to have so many buildings lighting up in memory of our babies,” she told Newstalk Breakfast. 

Nina lost her twins four years ago and went to the charity Féileacáin to look for support. 

“Liam and Grace made me a Mammy on 23rd March 2018,” she said. 

“We had quite a journey to have them and I just went into premature labour on 22nd March and we went into hospital and we were given the devastating news that Liam and Grace were going to be born but that they wouldn’t live. 

“Liam died just before he was born and Grace lived for 31 minutes before she joined her big brother.”

Small gravestone remembering "babies born asleep"

Losing a child, she says, is not a loss that you ever get over. However, slowly she has learnt how to cope with it.  

“The devastation of the loss of Liam and Grace is with me every day but so too is the love that they brought,” she added. 

“They made me a Mammy for the first time and a very proud Mam and the love for them gets you through those very tough days. You certainly never get over it but you learn to live with it.” 

Main image: A mother in an empty nursery. Picture by: Alamy.com