A pregnancy charity is seeking funding for a baby memorial garden to give families who have lost a child space to grieve.

Amber Crisis Pregnancy Care, also known as Amber CPC, based in West Wickham, provides, free, confidential counselling support for a range of pregnancy-related situations.

Founder and charity leader, Alison Stockdale, 60, from Bromley, was inspired to “give people a place to process their decisions,” after years working as a family planning nurse, having witnessed the lack of support for individuals struggling with loss or termination of pregnancy.

Alison wanted to create a safe space for individuals to grieve and learn to cope with the loss of a pregnancy, growing what started as a volunteer organisation in 2012, into an organisation of qualified counsellors from the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

She said: “There was a lack of support in the local area for something so huge in people’s lives.”

News Shopper: How the memorial garden could look How the memorial garden could look (Image: Amber Crisis Pregnancy Care)

The established charity has reached out to a demographic ranging from young people in their late teens, to women up to their 60s still struggling with the unprocessed grief of losing a baby.

The charity has also worked with men and is open to all individuals, with an aim to create a supportive network in the area for people struggling with issues such as abortion, miscarriage, or stillbirth.

The charity is trying to gather funding for a baby memorial garden, in a partnership with landscapers Idverde, Bromley, to create the site in Chislehurst Cemetery.

When planning the garden, members of the community were supportive of the project.

One person said: "Too many people lose babies in pregnancy and have no focal point to grieve.

"It would be nice to have a place, somewhere pretty and peaceful, to think about them.”

The project is five years in the making, having been set back by the Covid pandemic.

Having raised £24,000 of its £40,000 goal with the help of community grants, a public crowdfunding page has been set up with the initial aim of raising a further £5,000.

It has already raised approaching £1,500 and can be found at crowdfunder.co.uk/p/baby-memorial-garden-london-borough-of-bromley

Anyone looking to reach out and receive support for the loss of a pregnancy or a pregnancy-related issue can email contact@amberpregnancy.com or call 020 8462 9990.