The heartbreaking loss of her son at 22-weeks, set Candice King on a mission to help other mothers that have experienced the loss of their babies. The founder of the Angel Families Project shares her story.
I was relatively unaware of how common pregnancy loss and stillbirth really were. Sure, I’d heard and knew a few people here and there, but I never fully comprehended just how common and agonising it could be.
That was until our world came crashing down when our beautiful boy Clyde was born sleeping at 22 weeks in December 2021.
After the death of our son, I set out on a mission to make my boy proud, to become the voice for so many women who may be afraid to talk about their angels, to tell their stories and say their babies’ names proudly! Death, loss, and grief should not be taboo. And so, my Angel Families Project was born.
As a professional photographer with a large following, I knew I had a loud enough voice to share the stories of these beautiful babies gone too soon. So only a month after Clyde was born, while still in the fresh depths of my grief, I set out to find other women in the local community to connect with and give them the opportunity to share their stories.
Going through stillbirth myself and connecting with all these incredible women and their families has led me to learn so much about grief, love, and how the public reacts to the topic of baby death.
I realised how people that you least expect will band together and surround you with love like you never knew was possible. I also came to realise how many people find it too confronting to hear you talk about your baby and start to fade from your life. These things were so unexpected to learn and experience while grieving.
So, my advice to those who have someone they know experience their baby’s death is to say their baby’s name. We love it! Simply adore it! I know for myself that when people acknowledge and talk about my Clyde, it makes me want to beam love hearts to the heavens in appreciation that they haven’t forgotten he is still in my heart, even if he is no longer in my arms.
I’ve recognised how amazing, brave, and supportive other angel mums are. It’s like we are all part of a little club, a club we didn’t want to be a part of, but now that we are, we all have a bond, that we don’t even need words when we are all together. There is such a beautiful and deep understanding of each other.
Navigating life post-loss can be challenging, and we will all cope differently. But mums and dads, be proud of the little human you created, and don’t be afraid to share them with the world!
Creating and continually working on my Angel Families Project has helped me on my healing journey.
Aware that I’m helping other families to talk about their experiences (some of who were previously too scared to talk about publicly), that I’m bringing together some amazingly brave humans and helping to shout all the angel’s names from mountaintops while making women feel beautiful in the process, makes me feel overjoyed.
Knowing I’m doing all this to honour my boy. I hope I am making him proud!
Some days are harder than others, and some days I struggle to get through my workload as I’m so struck with grief that I cannot function. Other days I sit at my desk, singing away and thinking of all the beautiful moments we created with Clyde, and how he will make a big difference to so many in this world, even if he is no longer with us.
I hope to continue this project for many years to come, and that stillbirth, pregnancy loss and death become less of a taboo thing to be spoken about.
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Candice is the owner of Candice Campbell Photography and has been operating her photography studio in the Hunter Valley for over a decade. Following the stillbirth of her angel Clyde, she has focused on telling people’s birth stories and documenting their pregnancies and that special newborn stage of life.
