Actress and ambassador Kym Marsh, who hosted the annual Mariposa Trust charity ball earlier this month, opens up on losing her son Archie, and celebrates a change in the law that allows parents of babies born too soon to have their loss recognised
WORDS: BETH NEIL ADDITIONAL REPORTING: INDIGO STAFFORD PHOTOS: JAMES RUDLAND AND SONJA HORSMAN SHOOT PRODUCER: WILL PERRY
BABY LOVE
Host Kym Marsh knew it was going to be an evening of high emotion. The annual Mariposa Ball, held to honour the country’s baby bereavement heroes, is a cause close to her heart and always a deeply moving event.
But this year’s ceremony, proudly partnered by OK!, felt particularly poignant because, thanks to a recent change in the law meaning parents who lose a child before 24 weeks can now have their grief recognised with a baby loss certificate, there was a real reason to celebrate.
The government review came after almost a decade of tireless campaigning by Mariposa Trust founders and CEOs Andy and Zoe Clark-Coates MBE, with support from long-term ambassador Kym, whose baby boy Archie died moments after he was born 18 weeks prematurely in 2009.
The charity provides vital support to families affected by baby loss, and Waterloo Road star Kym said news of the historic victory meant the energy in the ballroom at London’s luxury Landmark hotel was palpable. “There was a real buzz in the air,” says Kym, who hosted the glamorous do earlier this month.
“The Mariposa Ball is always a gorgeous event, very heartfelt and with lots of people there for a reason and sharing their stories. Whether they’re bereaved parents or doctors or midwives, everyone is there because they care.
“But this year was bigger and better than ever – there was something different about the atmosphere and that’s because we felt like we’d won something. We were all very celebratory.”
It’s 15 years since Kym lost Archie, her son with actor ex-husband Jamie Lomas, and the impact of the tragedy on her and the wider family has been immense. But compounding their unimaginable pain has always been the fact that Archie’s life was never formally acknowledged because babies born before 24 weeks were not entitled to a birth certificate. That made Kym feel like her son and her loss didn’t matter.
“I was allowed to cremate him, but I wasn’t allowed a certificate and I couldn’t understand that,” says Kym, 47. “Not having a birth or death certificate made it feel like he
