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A new specialist counselling service for parents who have experienced the loss of a pregnancy or baby has launched at Northampton General Hospital (NGH) and Kettering General Hospital (KGH), thanks to an incredible community fundraising effort.

Baby loss counselling charity Petals has partnered with University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) to provide the new service, funded by more than £135,000 raised by participants in this year's Rust Bucket Rally.

The rally saw a convoy of 85 cars worth less than £1,000 complete a five-day, 2,600-mile journey from Kettering to Norway in June, in vehicles held together with little more than determination, gaffer tape and blind optimism.

Midwifery and bereavement teams from NGH and KGH joined Petals Founder and CEO Karen Burgess, BBC Radio Northampton's James Grant, and Rust Bucket Rally organiser Carlos Baldry on Monday 28 September to celebrate the launch and see how an extraordinary fundraising challenge has become a lasting source of specialist support for bereaved families across Northamptonshire.

Over the next 18 months, the service will provide specialist mental health support to up to 60 families at each hospital who experience the loss of a baby during pregnancy or shortly after birth.

Petals provides specialist counselling for parents affected by miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death, termination for medical reasons and pregnancy loss. Counselling is delivered online by specially trained counsellors and is provided at no cost to families.

Emma Perkin, Deputy Head of Midwifery at Northampton General Hospital and UHN Maternity Bereavement Services Lead, said:

“Our Maternity Bereavement Services are delighted to be working in partnership with Petals, thanks to the incredible fundraising efforts of everyone involved in the Rust Bucket Rally.

“The specialist counselling provided by Petals will complement the care and support already offered by our maternity bereavement teams, giving families additional specialist support following the loss of a baby.”

For Northampton residents Pete and Rosie Chilver, who nominated Petals as this year's Rust Bucket Rally charity following their own experience of baby loss, the launch represents a deeply personal milestone.

Pete said: “When we left hospital after losing our baby, we were simply sent home. No follow-up appointment. No support information. No guidance for what came next.

“That so many bereaved parents will now have someone to talk to, to guide them through their grief together as a couple is phenomenal. Knowing they won't walk out of those hospitals with zero signpost to support offers us real comfort that we've managed to make a difference out of something so painful.”

Carlos Baldry, organiser of the Rust Bucket Rally and winner of the Fundraiser Award at the BBC Radio Northampton Make a Difference Awards 2026, said:

“The fact that a brand-new service is starting based purely as the result of the Rust Bucket Rally, and which will make an immediate impact to people in the area where I'm born and bred makes hairs stand up on the back of my neck. It is just incredible.”

Karen Burgess, Founder and CEO of Petals, said: “I am delighted to be launching this service in partnership with University Hospitals of Northamptonshire, enabling many bereaved parents experiencing baby loss to have direct access to our online specialist counselling service.

“We are so grateful to Carlos, Pete and Rosie and the entire Rust Bucket Rally team who raised such a phenomenal amount of money, allowing us to fund this service over the next eighteen months, and we wish to thank everyone who has gone above and beyond to make this all possible.”

The Petals service is available to parents who are under the care of the Bereavement Midwifery Teams at NGH or KGH and who have experienced their loss within the last year.

Families are referred directly to Petals by the hospitals' bereavement midwifery teams, with specialist counselling delivered online at no cost to families.

Alongside the launch of the Petals service, families accessing bereavement care at NGH will also soon benefit from a new Daisy Bereavement Suite. Funded by Northamptonshire Health Charity, the dedicated maternity bereavement facility will offer a private and compassionate space where bereavement midwives can support families away from busy maternity wards, creating a calmer environment for follow-up appointments and ongoing care.

To listen to the BBC Radio Northampton coverage of this event - Annabel Amos - 28/09/2026 - BBC Sounds - navigate to the times below.

• 1 hour 9 mins 30 seconds - Carlos from Rust Bucket Rally
• 1 hour 39 mins 40 seconds - cheque presentation and Emma Perkin, Deputy Head of Midwifery
• 2 hours 9 mins 40 seconds - Karen Burgess from Petals
• 2 hours 43 mins onwards - Bereavement midwives Victoria Oxby and Rachael Moss