Fathers Feel Too

When Andrew Don's baby Lara Jean died at five months in the womb, the hospital consultant sent his wife a condolence letter which didn't mention him. Andrew felt like a non-person.
He writes, "Lara Jean was my baby, too. I'd read the books and seen the movie. I was prepared for fully-fledged fatherhood and had signed up for the full deal." But Andrew felt his intense grief was not taken seriously, that he was expected to take it in his stride.
Seven years on he turned his experience into a book telling the stories of 10 men who have lost babies either during pregnancy, at birth or during the first year of life.
"I wanted to do something specially for men, many of whom still think society requires them to have a stiff upper lip and hold it all together for their partner. Women are encouraged to 'let it all out'. Men, less so. I wanted to tell them, it's okay to cry, it's fine to head-butt the wall, you're allowed to give yourself space to crumble - yes, men are allowed to feel, too."