Incredible mum raises money for Eden Suite in memory of Mustafa

A Birmingham mother has raised over £2,000 for the Eden Suite at Heartlands Hospital. Shabina Akhtar tragically lost her son Mohammed Mustafa Ahmed just two hours after he was born on 27 May 2017. Now, Shabina is raising money to support the dedicated bereavement suite and is also working hard to break down the taboos around talking about neonatal death.

When she was 20 weeks pregnant, Shabina received the devastating news that her son had Potter’s Syndrome, a fatal condition where the kidneys fail to develop. Mustafa was born via caesarean section at Heartlands Hospital and sadly passed away two hours later in his mother’s arms.

Shabina said: “He was so small and precious. I held him until his last breath.” Mustafa’s funeral took place the next day, in accordance with Muslim religious traditions, but tragically Shabina couldn’t be there as she had developed a clot on her lung.

Speaking of the support that the staff on the Eden Suite gave her, Shabina said, “The bereavement nurses at Heartlands were amazing. They were there for me during my darkest hours, and I will never forget their kindness.

“On the night before Mustafa was born, one midwife stayed up with me until three or four in the morning, talking to me until I fell asleep. For me it didn’t feel like they thought of their job as just a job, they felt like family and friends to me.”

Shabina, with the support of her husband Naeem and their three daughters Alishba, nine, Eliza, five, and Iraj Dua, four months, decided to start fundraising for the Eden Suite.

Shabina’s family and friends had soon raised over £2,300 to support mothers just like Shabina on the Eden Suite. The money that has been raised will help to purchase another CuddleCot for the unit. A CuddleCot is a special cot that helps to keep the baby cool, allowing the family to spend more time with the baby than they would otherwise be able to.

Alongside her amazing fundraising efforts, Shabina is keen to raise awareness of neonatal death within the Asian community, breaking down the barriers that mean it is not a topic that is widely discussed.

She said: “The subject is still taboo in a lot of communities, including the Asian community, so I think it’s really important to share my experience.

“Since I’ve talked openly about Mustafa, I’ve had lots of other mothers tell me their experiences. These are people that I knew from the community, but I was unaware of what had happened to them and their babies.

“I feel that it’s so important to talk about the babies that we have lost. Mustafa is always going to be with me, he will always be there in my life so I want to talk about him to people.
“When a baby is born, your instinct is to protect them, and when your baby doesn’t make it you want to protect their memory instead.”

Her husband Naeem is also keen to break down those barriers, saying: “Men don’t like to talk about these things and I want to change that. We have to be more open about our experiences and help one another through the tough times.”

Reflecting on her time on the Eden Suite, Shabina said that she was not aware of the difference that the hospital charity made on the ward. She said: “The Charity made a big difference to my stay; they funded the bed that my mother slept on by my side. This meant that she was able to stay close to me throughout, but also managed to get some proper rest.”

Sian Averill, Fundraising Manager at Heartlands Hospital Charity, said: “"The Charity's heartfelt thanks go to Shabina for her hard work in raising such a fantastic amount of money. Heartlands Hospital Charity works to provide 'added extras' for the Eden Suite which enhance the world-class quality of care that is offered on the unit.
Thanks to the generosity of fundraisers such as Shabina, the Charity has been able to provide CuddleCots for the unit, as well as providing items such as extra beds that help to make women’s experiences on the unit that bit easier.
"None of this would be possible without the support of people like Shabina, who enable the Charity to go 'over and above' for mothers and their families on the Eden Suite."

You can help to support Shabina’s incredible fundraising efforts by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/shabina-akhtar, or find out more about the Eden Suite by clicking here.