A COUPLE, who have lost five babies during pregnancy, have completed a skydive for baby loss support charity Towards Tomorrow Together.

Jess Chu and her fiancee Ben Harrison, who live near Launceston, joined three friends recently to complete a three-mile skydive in order to raise funds for a charity close to their hearts, Towards Tomorrow Together.

Jess is a mother of eight, but just three of her children are living, following the loss of five babies during pregnancy.

Towards Tomorrow Together was started by Mel Scott, who sadly lost her son, Finley, during birth ten years ago. Finley’s father Barry, along with Jess, Ben and the rest of the team signed up to the skydive on what would have been Finley’s tenth birthday.

Jess said: “In 2013, Ben and I lost our son, Henry, at 16 weeks. I’ve done two skydives before, but this was Ben and Barry’s first skydive, both getting to dance in the clouds with their sons. Barry also released seeded paper hearts with names of babies born sleeping or lost during pregnancy whilst he was under the canopy.”

Jess has a blog where she has written about her experience. In a post titled ‘I am a mother of 8’, she explains her journey, which started in 2008.

“Having suffered from sub fertility issues I was about to start Clomid when I discovered that I was pregnant. My husband and I were so happy and it didn’t even cross our minds that something could go wrong. After all, miscarriages are what happen to other people,” she wrote.

Jess suffered a small bleed at ten weeks, but a heartbeat was evident at a scan. Reassured, the couple returned home with a follow-up scan booked the following week. But during the scan, Jess’ life ‘changed forever’ when she heard the most devastating words any mother could hear, when she was told there was no heartbeat. After a lengthy time spent in a ‘family room’, Jess was eventually told she would need an EPRC procedure as it was a ‘missed miscarriage’. When faced with the surgeon, Jess described the situation as ‘matter of fact’, with no acknowledgement for the distress she was in.

Jess sadly lost two more babies at seven and nine weeks before being diagnosed with Anti Phospholipid Syndrome, and with heparin and aspirin during pregnancy, she finally began to see motherhood become a reality.

Jess fell pregnant with Lili in 2010, and despite some difficulties, she was born at 37 weeks. But despite the joy of Lili’s birth, Jess faced another difficult year with the breakdown of her marriage and a diagnosis of thyroid cancer. However, in darkness there was some light as she grew closer to her best friend Ben and began a relationship with him.

In 2013, Jess fell pregnant again and this time round, felt ‘very well looked after’ by the maternity team and consultant.

The 12-week scan reassured Jess and Ben even more and they were prepared to meet their baby, with appointments and health checks being a regular occurrence. At 16 weeks, everything seemed fine at a routine appointment and at the end of the appointment, the doctor asked Jess if she would like to listen to the baby’s heart. Using a doppler, she couldn’t find a heartbeat, but admitted it was a bit early. However, to give Jess peace of mind, she was sent to have a scan.

Jess said: “I knew by now that the first thing they show you when you have a scan is the heartbeat. So when the sonographer was silent and there were lots of clicks on his control panel, I knew there was a problem.

“My obstetrician, who’d sent me round for the scan, was called out of clinic and came straight away. She talked me through my options and told me that I could be admitted for an ERPC the following morning or I could be induced and give birth to my baby. In the heat of the moment I chose the ERPC. To this day I regret that I didn’t get to meet my baby or hold him.”

A bereavement midwife began to prepare Jess for the process, and as she removed the ‘Baby on Board’ badge from her coat, the midwife stopped her and reassured her that it was still true — a huge act of kindness that didn’t go unnoticed by Jess during that horrific time.

“Ben and I weren’t sure whether we should name him, but I’m so glad that we did. Henry is part of our lives every day.”

Three months on, Jess fell pregnant with Charlie. Similarly to her pregnancy with Lili, it wasn’t straightforward, but Charlie arrived into the world at 37 weeks.

After a move to Cornwall in 2016, Jess discovered she was pregnant again, which proved to be her most difficult pregnancy.

She suffered gestational diabetes and high blood pressure. But at 36 weeks, Daisy Jane was born.

In 2016, Jess completed her first skydive in Henry’s memory to raise money for Towards Tomorrow Together. Since her most recent skydive, Jess told the Post: “We support Towards Tomorrow Together as Mel, the founder, is an inspirational person. In the face of her own ongoing grief and trauma she supports other bereaved parents through the charity.

“She was on Facebook messenger to me the night before I went in to hospital for my operation after Henry died. She gave me the confidence to ask the hospital to do tests to tell us the sex of the baby. I offer free services as a photographer for bereaved parents via the charity, going into hospitals to photograph parents with their babies who have been born sleeping or died soon after birth.

“We have raised over £1,000 from the jump. I am hoping to do another skydive on October 12 for Towards Tomorrow Together to mark International Baby Loss Awareness Week.”

Jess has now signed up for the skydive on October 12.

Anyone interested in joining the jump can get in touch with Mel from Towards Tomorrow Together via the website, www.towards-tomorrow.com.

Jess is now accepting donations for her next charity skydive. To donate, go to her Just Giving page: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jesschu790