A CHESSINGTON mother who gave birth to twin girls, knowing one of them would die shortly after being born, has created a butterfly logo to display on hospital beds to let other new parents know that a baby has not survived.

Millie Smith, 24, of Fircroft Road in Chessington, prematurely gave birth to daughters Callie and Skye on April 30.

Twelve weeks into her pregnancy, Miss Smith and partner Lewis Cann, 25, learnt that Skye had anencephaly, a condition where the skull does not properly form leaving the brain exposed, and she died a few hours after being born.

Miss Smith said: “I was in a neonatal ward with Callie, and there were three sets of twins crying. A parent who didn’t know what I’d been through turned to me and said, ‘You are so lucky you don’t have twins.’

“It just broke me. I know the mother would have felt bad if she knew how her words affected me.”

Miss Smith came up with the idea of a laminated purple butterfly that midwives can put on maternity beds as a symbol to let other parents know that a baby was part of a multiple pregnancy, but did not survive.

She said: “Some days I didn’t want to talk about it and some days I did “I thought there was something we could put to make people know it happened but that I didn’t want to talk about it.

“People kept saying ‘Rest in peace,’ but it’s quite morbid. I only came up with it about two weeks ago.”

She added: “We set up Skye High to support Kingston Hospital and, long-term, I’d like to take it across the country but we’ll need more funding.

“I’ve had messages from hundreds of people from all over the world in Australia and America.”

The couple hope to raise £10,000 for a counsellor at Kingston Hospital to help support parents during and after the post-natal period if their child has died.

A hospital spokeswoman said: “We are very happy to support Millie in developing the butterfly concept as an option for parents who have lost one of their babies, but still have a surviving baby on the unit.

“Some of the best initiatives and ideas come from parents who have used the neonatal unit. The scheme is a lovely way of honouring Skye.”

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