Lola’s Project is an online support service that offers health and practical advice to women who are suffering from bereavement due to the loss of their baby.
It was founded by Islander Sasha Holden, whose first daughter Lola was stillborn in 2011.
Mrs Holden (47) said that she set up the charity to help other mothers and create a living memorial in honour of Lola.
The charity offers advice through its website – lossofalovedarrival.com – and links to other support services such as the Philip’s Footprints charity, which supports those affected by stillbirth.
The website also features video tutorials from local health practitioners on topics such as wellbeing and exercise and healing therapies. In the weeks following Lola’s stillbirth, Mrs Holden, who had all the challenges of a post-natal body but no baby to bring home, said she found herself in a position where she couldn’t face joining a post-natal class attended by mothers and their babies.
She said: ‘It was a really devastating experience and it happens to so many more women than you would think.
‘In the days and weeks after losing Lola, I had the thought that if I don’t do something to help myself, then I am not going to be able to function properly.
‘At this point I tried to look up post-natal yoga and Pilates, which were things that had made me feel good before and gave me the feeling of strength, resilience and relaxation, but I was in a world of post-natal videos or post-natal classes in London at the time which were all designed for mums who could bring their prams with them.
‘I found it too devastating to go and couldn’t find anything like that for mums like me, which is how Lola’s Project was born.’
Mrs Holden, who has a six-year-old daughter, said they were growing the project’s exercise and wellness content and were eager to hear from any practitioners working in yoga, Pilates, mindfulness or in other areas of wellbeing and exercise.
The charity will be supported by a number of Islanders from a range of backgrounds. They are: Jason Rae, director of Scene Creative; Marie-Christine Dix, director of Align Health Agency; Helen Lincoln, a biometrics coach from The Movement Centre; Janicke Michel, a massage and reflexology therapist; Ashley Cummins, of MOVE Yoga and Pilates; Emma Neuschaffer, of Kula Yoga; Jan Auffret, a midwife at the Hospital; Jo Nash, the founder of Philip’s Footprints and Tom Faulkner, the dierctor of the Human Health Centre.
Anyone who wants to contribute to the charity can email admin@lossofalovedarrival.com.
