A MEMORIAL service will be held tomorrow at Glasgow Cathedral for parents who have suffered the loss of a baby.

The multi-faith event has been organised by The Mariposa Trust and is one of 20 being held across the UK for anyone bereaved in pregnancy, at birth or in infancy.

The ‘Saying Goodbye’ services were launched in 2012 by charity founders Zoe and Andy Clark-Coates, who suffered the loss of five babies and felt there was a lack of support for bereaved parents.

The services include music and poems and parents are encouraged to ring a bell that is passed around to mark each life lost.

Baby loss affects around 1 in 4 pregnancies each year in the UK, with nearly 700 babies lost each day.

Gillian Macdonald attended a service in 2015 with her husband Paul after suffering a miscarriage the year previously and then an Ectopic Pregnancy, where the fertilized egg attaches itself in a place other than inside the uterus.

She almost died after her fallopian tube, where the baby had been growing, ruptured and she suffered major internal bleeding.

She said: "The surgeon confirmed that if my husband hadn’t pushed for them to operate on me when he did then I wouldn’t be here.I’ll never forget those words.

"Over the next couple of weeks reality of what had just happened began to sink in.

"It was as if I had been pushing myself to get on with things as society makes you feel as if you shouldn’t grieve for early pregnancies.

"This was the first time I came across Saying Goodbye, I wasn’t sure if attending a service would help me as I am not religious.

"However a friend that I had met through a support group encouraged me to come along with her as she explained that it’s not just for religious people and everyone is welcome.

"The service was beautiful and it gave me a chance to grieve for my two beautiful stars. During the service a bell is past around for you ring it once for each of your losses.

"It’s really emotional but at the same time it’s extremely powerful.

"When I left the service I felt a little bit lighter that I was able to let some of my grief go and say goodbye properly to my stars."

Gillian has since given birth to a daughter, Ailith, now two, and said a sister site of the charity, Growing You, helped support her during her pregnancy.

Andy Clark-Coates said: "When parents go through the devastating loss of a baby, whether during pregnancy, at birth or in infancy, they often feel isolated and unable to process the overwhelming grief and trauma that miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal and early years loss brings. The services allow people to stand with others who have experienced the similar trauma of baby loss, and collectively acknowledge and remember each life lost.

"The services are uplifting and moving events filled with music, poems, acts of remembrance and more, and have been attended by countless thousands of people, who have found healing and solace by attending."

The Saying Goodbye service will be held on Saturday at 11am at Glasgow Cathedral.