A ROOM at Basingstoke hospital has been transformed to provide a special place for families to spend time with their lost babies, thanks to the efforts of a group of fundraisers.

The Butterfly Suite has been refurbished at the hospital, in Aldermaston Road, to offer a more comfortable area for parents whose babies did not survive pregnancy or birth and whose babies passed away shortly after they were born.

The special suite replaces the hospital’s Lilac Room and now includes a birthing room, a private bathroom and a bedroom where families can spend time with their babies after they are born.

The £30,000 refurbishment was paid for by donations to stillbirth and neonatal deaths charity Farnborough Sands and the hospital’s Forget Me Not fund.

Families who have lost babies spent months tirelessly fundraising to make the special new room a reality.

Trevor and Tracy Ball raised more than £1,000 to provide cuddle cots and special Moses baskets which keep the babies cool, allowing families to spend more time with them.

The 39-year-olds from Rooksdown began fundraising after losing their daughter Emilia in 2011.

The couple, who have two other children, five-year-old Ellyn and Clara, two, received donations from family, friends and from Burnham Copse Infant School, where Tracy works as a teacher.

Tracy said: “We had her in the afternoon and she stayed with us for the rest of the day but babies change as they warm up so she couldn’t stay with us overnight. She had to come into a separate room to be cooled.

“We wanted to provide the opportunity for other people to spend more time with their babies.”

Leah and James Mitchell from Basingstoke also helped raise funds, generating £1,500 in memory of their daughter Amelia Ivy, who was born at the ward in 2012.

Midwife Fiona Jackson said: “We are extremely grateful for all the donations that have paid for these new facilities, and which will enable families to spend precious time with their babies, providing more time to build memories in a comfortable environment without feeling rushed.”

For more information about the Sands charity, visit uk-sands.org.