Supporting Bereaved Families: Rachel’s Lincoln 10k Challenge

This weekend, Rachel – Specialist Bereavement Midwife at United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust – will be taking on the Lincoln 10k to help ensure that families facing the heartbreak of baby loss continue to receive the comfort, care and specialist support they need.

For Rachel, this cause is deeply personal. Every day, she walks alongside families during the most devastating moments of their lives.
“My work isn’t physical, it’s emotional,” she explains. “I can’t take away a family’s pain, but I can offer hope and support healing. And so much of that is only possible because of the charity.”

Over the past four years, charitable funding has helped Rachel and her team go above and beyond for bereaved families. It has supported a range of meaningful Baby Loss Awareness Week activities, from crafting days and keepsakes, to lantern walks to Lincoln Cathedral where families can come together and remember their babies in a gentle, supportive space.

The charity has also helped fund the bereavement suite on the Labour Ward at Pilgrim Hospital, providing a calm and comforting environment away from the clinical setting. Last year, they enabled two years of specialist bereavement counselling for families affected by pregnancy loss or neonatal death – support that has made a “phenomenal difference,” with heartfelt feedback from families who have felt truly cared for during unimaginable grief.

Now, the goal is to go even further.
Rachel and the team hope to continue funding bereavement counselling and create a dedicated bereavement suite at Lincoln, ensuring every Lincolnshire family has equal access to a peaceful space to spend precious time with their baby.

“These things will only be possible with ongoing fundraising,” Rachel says. “I’m asking friends, family and colleagues to join me. Run, walk, skip or jump – it’s not about the distance or the speed. It’s about the cause.”

By taking on the Lincoln 10k, Rachel hopes to help protect and expand the services that offer families comfort, dignity and care when life feels darkest.

“During moments of unimaginable grief, kindness and specialist support can make all the difference. Every donation, big or small, will help families feel held and supported when they need it most,” she says.