WIMBORNE Minster has been named host for one of 29 international Saying Goodbye services held this year.

The Saying Goodbye services were launched by the Mariposa Trust to provide support to the 30,000,000 individuals, couples and families affected by baby loss each year globally.

They are uplifting and moving events filled with music, poems and acts of remembrance.

Today the charity’s six divisions provide support to over 50,000 people each week from around the world.

This year will see more than 28 free to attend services taking place in seven countries, and Wimborne Minster will host the ninth service of the year on May 19.

The Mariposa Trust’s co-founder and CEO Zoe Clark-Coates MBE is a leading grief expert, author, TV host and campaigner.

She created the Saying Goodbye service with her husband Andy more than a decade ago, following their devastating personal journey of five losses.

Zoe said: "Our services provide a beautiful opportunity for mothers, fathers, siblings and extended family to say goodbye to their babies and show they are truly loved.

"Our job at the Mariposa Trust is to ensure every child is recognised, however fleeting their existence.”

One parent who attended a service said: “The Saying Goodbye service gave me the time and space to formally recognise all of my babies and the experience of being with people who just knew how it felt was a real strength.

“As I stood with other parents and proudly rang the bell for my 14 babies, I felt unbearable sadness but also a great privilege to be able to properly celebrate their existence."

Zoe has also been chairing and authoring the government’s Pregnancy Loss Review in the UK, which saw 73 recommendations to overhaul care and support across the NHS and beyond accepted in 2023.

These are in the process of being implemented, which will lead to the clinical care and support available to bereaved parents transformed.

Andy Clark-Coates, the charity’s co-founder and CEO, said: “We invite anyone who has gone through or been affected by baby loss, whether recently or decades ago, to join us for this special event.”