"Do not hesitate to reach out and seek support - you are not alone."

This is the message from a heartbroken mother whose baby died in her arms the day after he was born.

Baby William was born on February 6 last year at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and tragically died the following day.

An inquest into his death held last month concluded that his death was natural causes, due to a condition called mitochondrial disease - although this was not clear at the time.

He was the firstborn child of a Costessey couple who have asked not to be named but have spoken of their experience to support others.

(Image: Newsquest)

The baby's mother, known as Mrs W, said: "We had been looking forward to becoming parents for so long, and when we finally thought we made it, our son was suddenly taken away without any warning whatsoever.

"The memories are so vivid, replaying in our heads constantly as we retrace our steps and ask if there was anything we could have done differently."

She said that living with the grief of losing William had become a "new normal" - but also insisted help was out there.

"It may feel like a really lonely time, but there are lots of people out there who care about what you are going through - but it family, friends, teams at hospitals and charities," she added.

"For us, the supportive network of our closest family and friends has been invaluable - their unwavering presence has been a lifeline, especially during challenging times when everything feels lost and your world seems to have turned upside down."

Mrs W said she had also found comfort via counselling from the charity Time Norfolk and from joining a Facebook group run by the charity SANDS.

Despite William having the shortest of lives, his parents have devotedly clung on to his memory - regularly visiting his resting place and continuing to speak his name.

William's mother added: "Honour your child by finding ways to remember them - whether it is through creating a memorial or simply holding onto your cherished memories.

"We choose to visit William every week and I continue to write letters to him.

"We will always cherish the memories of the child we lost and he will remain in our hearts forever, never forgotten, loved beyond words."

 

'We held on to hope'

(Image: Newsquest)

Tragically, the loss of a baby can not always be explained - with the catch-all phrase of 'sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) often leant on when a medical condition can not be determined with certainty.

Mrs W said the couple welcomed an inquest being held into William's death as an opportunity to find explanations.

Investigations did eventually point to the cause of William's death - but Mrs W acknowledged not all are that lucky.

She said: "William collapsed suddenly in hospital about 18 hours after his birth, for reasons unknown at the time, and as his parents, we owed this to him to find out what happened and why.

"William was our first baby and there were no complications during my pregnancy - his collapse baffled everyone as he was full-term and had passed all health checks by doctors and midwives post-birth.

"We were somewhat prepared for the possibility of having an unascertained outcome from the inquest but we were determined never to give up searching for answers for our William.

"If the reasons remained unknown, we considered that perhaps today's modern science is not yet advanced enough to determine what actually happened to him. However, we held onto hope that someday we would find out.

"We were fortunate to gain more insight into what happened a year later."