Deafening Silence

The Deafening Silence was commissioned by Still Birth Charity Abigail’s Footsteps to improve bereavement care training for midwives.

Based on interviews with women, who’d experienced a still birth, the film tells the story of a mother grappling with the unfounded sense of guilt associated with the death of her daughter.

The film was rolled out to midwives through a training programme collaboration with the leading still birth charity SANDS. It was used as part of a full day training programme and elearning.

RESULTS

97% agreed taking part in the training positively impacted on their practice.

The impact of the film also led to system changes in maternity awards, including involving student midwives earlier on in bereavement care training and streamlining the processing of patient information and paperwork.

On its launch the film received national and regional coverage on BBC and ITV news outlets. The film has since been viewed 453,000 times on youtube – providing a platform for discussion for the community of families impacted by still birth. The film also received national and local coverage on the news and also articles in national newspapers. In effect the film broke the silence around still birth

It’s now being used globally to improve bereavement care.