Gina and Peter Reeves, whose son Dante was stillborn in April 2022, have created a support network called Ebony Bonds for Black families experiencing baby loss.
Gina said: “We wanted to do something within our community and realised the only way was to do it ourselves.
“We had an event in London in May 2024, mainly for our family to get together have a walk and talk before some food at a Caribbean restaurant.
“It grew beyond our expectations, Seventy people came and they asked when our next event was.
“We’ve built a community and it keeps growing.
“When we went through our loss, we didn’t have this.
“I’m happy I can help those who need support more than anything.
“I can’t bring my son back, so I do what I can to help someone else.”
Ebony Bonds offers peer support, events, and a WhatsApp group to connect people who have experienced baby loss.
The couple said they felt there was a lack of dedicated support for the Black community and decided to create their own safe space.
Dante was stillborn at Queen’s Hospital at 25 weeks, and Gina said she felt her concerns were not taken seriously during her care.
She welcomed news that Queen’s is one of 14 trusts being investigated in a review of maternity services led by Baroness Amos.
She said: “We’ve been back in to meet the new team and have been shown some of the improvements which have been made.
“We have a healthy relationship now and can see that working with the maternity team can help make things better.”
Peter has also launched NINE (A Nod Is Not Enough), a support group for Black men.
He said: “Black men often acknowledge each other with a nod, it means ‘I see you’ and we know the trauma and shared racial experiences behind it.
“But we need to go beyond just nodding and talk about the traumas to help heal.”
Ebony Bonds will be among the speakers at a webinar hosted by the maternity bereavement team at Queen’s on Thursday, October 23.
