'My baby died and I was expected to carry on' - Harrogate mum on how baby loss made her want to help others

Sam Naughton, 44, experienced the loss of her baby ten weeks into pregnancy after attending hospital with bleeding and being reassured that miscarriage was unlikely.

Days later, when she attended a scan with her husband Ben, the room fell silent before they were told there was no heartbeat.

Even though Sam became pregnant again and her son Alby was born safely in 2022, the experience caused her to rethink the direction of her life.

Previously Head of Brand Communications at Yorkshire Tea, part of Taylors of Harrogate, she decided to step away from her existing career and launch Cocoon, a Yorkshire fertility and women’s wellbeing clinic based in Harrogate.

"Ben and I had already named their baby, Willow, and had begun imagining life as a family of four.

"To have all that joy and excitement taken away from you all of a sudden was devastating.

"I found myself grieving for Willow while while still caring for my daughter Ruby.

"When I fell pregnant with our son Alby, all I felt at first was anxiety.

"It was a real struggle. You no longer trust your own body.

"I only started to relax after around the 20-week mark.”

When Alby was born safely in 2022, Sam felt immense relief but, also, a growing sense that her experiences had exposed a gap in how women are supported through fertility, pregnancy and loss.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about how many women were quietly struggling,” said Sam.

“Women dealing with loss, fertility challenges or pregnancy anxiety, but feeling they had to minimise their feelings or cope alone.

“So many of the spaces I went into were built purely around celebration. I remember sitting in waiting rooms filled with teddy bears that played recorded heartbeats.

"I kept thinking how devastating it would be to receive bad news and then have to walk back through all of that, carrying your fear or grief past other people’s happiness.”

Established in early 2024, Cocoon combines clinical care with emotional support, including free, accessible talking therapy for those affected by baby loss, fertility challenges or pregnancy anxiety.

Sam Naughton had completely loved her career at Yorkshire Tea, which had brought so many “incredible opportunities”.

But helping other women based on her own experiences means she has found an important new sense of purpose, professionally.

"I realised that if I felt like that about pregnancy and baby loss. so did other women.

“I wanted to create a place that felt human, somewhere women don’t feel rushed, dismissed or expected to put on a brave face.”

Since taking the plunge - and a drop in salary - Sam has carefully built a multidisciplinary team of midwives, therapists and practitioners at Cocoon.

Based at The Coach House on Victoria Avenue in Harrogate, as well as clinical services, this cosy Care Quality Commission registered facility offers free talking therapy for women who have experienced baby loss, pregnancy anxiety or fertility-related trauma, delivered in partnership with Taking Baby Steps, led by former bereavement midwife Jane Bamford.

The next stage will involve the launch of a second clinic, still with a patient-centric ethos but more focused on a preventative and well-being approach.

“We were clear from the outset that emotional support had to be part of what we offer,” said Sam.

"Grief doesn’t discriminate, and access to care shouldn’t either.”

"I can’t change what happened to us.

"But if I can help even one woman feel heard and supported, then something meaningful has come from it all.”

For more information on Cocoon, visit www.Cocoon-Hgt.com

Or follow @Cocoon_Pregnancy on Instagram