Staff and customers at Tesco Duloch have helped raise over £2000 for charity in support of a colleague who lost her baby at 37 weeks.
Life turned upside down for Elizabeth Faulkner when her daughter Nancy with her partner Jamie was stillborn September last year.
The 23-year-old has found the process of grieving incredibly isolating and in a bid to raise awareness asked her workplace to stage a fundraiser for SANDS (the stillborn and neonatal charity).
The event took place in-store from October 9-11 in conjunction with baby loss awareness week.
The staff took part in a dress down day and raffles and bucket donations all added to the incredible amount raised.
Elizabeth, from Cowdenbeath, told the Press: "I've found it extremely hard to get back to normality because I'm frightened about what I have to say to people or what they might say to me.
"I'm still not back to work properly - it's really hard to find a way to bring up what I went through and I've felt incredibly isolated.
"I felt the awareness week would give me a chance to speak about that experience and it turned out to be a great thing for me to do as well as for others too.
"I've realised that people want to know about Nancy and how I am feeling."
Elizabeth has worked for Tesco for the last five years but for the first time last week, she heard other colleagues stories who had also experienced miscarriage and stillbirth, demonstrating the need for more awareness.
Statistics show that one in four women will go through miscarriage and stillbirth but Elizabeth feels like it is still a taboo subject in society.
"I had what you call a textbook pregnancy," she said.
"I had been feeling a bit unwell but I was checked over and they said everything was fine.
"At the next check-up, we were told that Nancy's heartbeat had stopped and it was heartbreaking.
"I had no idea that a pregnancy could end like that and as Nancy was my first, I now realise I was naive and so many women experience this."
Elizabeth is found relief in the support she had received from SANDS who hold Christmas services and lots of events so parents can remember their child.
She has also been able to attend support groups where she has shared with others who have gone through the same thing.
"It can seem like it's not a normal loss and that's what makes it incredibly isolating," she added.
"But Nancy was still a baby, a precious life and all plans you had have been brushed away.
"Suddenly everything changed.
"And a lot of the time there is no reason why baby loss happens.
"I delivered Nancy naturally which was very surreal but actually it was still nice because we got to meet her.
"It helped us with our grief.
"My advice to anyone else is make sure you take part in the support out there, reach out and go to events that are there for you."
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October 22, 2020 at 02:30PM
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Tragedy for Elizabeth sparks fundraising drive by colleagues - centralfifetimes.com
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