Ipswich mum walks 100km to raise money for bereaved parents

Naz Ali set off on her challenge to walk 100km in September in a bid to raise awareness and remove the stigma surrounding stillbirths, miscarriages and any other form of bereavement affecting young parents. 

She is supporting the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Charity (Sands), a national charity which provides support to anyone affected by the death of a baby.

Naz Ali said that there are a lot of personal reasons that have encouraged her to take part in this walk. (Image: Contributed)

Mrs Ali said: "There are quite a lot of reasons why I am personally doing this walk. 

"One is that it is quite close to my heart.

"I have got quite a few friends and family members who have been along this sort of path where they have suffered from miscarriages and it is not highly spoken about."

She said people were unaware of the support that charities like SANDS can offer, which is available to bereaved mothers and fathers.

The charity is based at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London, and offers people mental and emotional support, over the phone and face-to-face. 

It also helps parents who may want to continue to try for another baby and has a division which carries out research into stillbirths.

Read More: Bereavement Guide news from The Ipswich Star

Naz Ali has completed 23km of the run and raised £322. (Image: � Copyright Stephen Waller)

Mrs Ali started the walk earlier this week and hopes to complete the 100km around September 26.

She has already run 23km and is close to achieving her target of raising £350 for the charity. She hopes to break the target in the next 77km. 

"I am proud to be doing this walk for SANDS and help raise awareness," she said. 

"No one should suffer in silence and by helping raise money for SANDS, research can be conducted to analyse how best to prevent babies passing away."