A HEARTBROKEN mother has spoken of her grief after losing her baby daughter through stillbirth.

Janice and Gavin Gillam, aged 38 and 39 respectively, were overjoyed when they welcomed their first child Isabelle to the world on June 23, 2008.

However, doctors at Eastbourne District General Hospital noticed Isabelle was very pale and unwell.

She was transferred to the intensive care unit at Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton the next day.

Doctors were unable to save Isabelle and she died on June 25. Janice, who works as an accountant, said: “When I was pregnant with Isabelle doctors were sure nothing was wrong.

“When she was born she was very pale. The reason for that was she had a massive blood loss through the umbilical cord to my blood stream.

“That is something that doesn’t happen often. Because she bled through the umbilical cord there were no visible signs that she was very ill.

“My body had absorbed the blood. At the time no one knew what was happening.

“Isabelle lost so much blood which resulted her in having multiple organ failure and brain damage beyond repair because she had lost a lot of oxygen.

“We were taken to the Royal Sussex Hospital overnight because Brighton had more medical facilities.

“I was recovering in a room and doctors came to me and said Isabelle couldn’t make it. They turned off all the machines.”

For years the couple were unable to openly talk about what happened to their daughter. The couple have two children Henry, nine, and Harriett, six.

When the couple were going through the toughest time of their lives, they were put in touch with the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society (Sands).

Janice said: “Gavin and I are running a marathon at Beachy Head this month to raise money for Sands.

“Isabelle would have been ten this year. We wanted to do something this year in her memory. We think turning ten is quite a poignant age. It has taken us a long time to talk about what happened, it’s not easy to relive that moment.

“We want to raise awareness of neonatal death, and to help families who have started on this path. We chose to do the marathon this month because it’s Baby Lost Awareness month. We’ll be running with our family and friends. Sands helped us through the hardest time of our lives and continue to do so to this day. Our target is £2,000.”

They will be running the marathon on October 27. To support go to justgiving.com/Isabelle-Gillam.