From Loss to Purpose

My name is Klaudia Cierpial, and I founded Listen to Mums because of my daughter, Maya.

In April 2020, while living in Scotland, I was 28 weeks pregnant when I became concerned about lower back pain. When I contacted maternity services, I was advised to take paracetamol and have a hot bath. Tragically, my daughter Maya was later stillborn.

Following her death, I learned that Maya had a hypercoiled umbilical cord with narrowing, which had reduced the blood flow between us. Like many bereaved parents, I was left with questions that may never be fully answered. I understand that not every stillbirth is preventable, and I do not claim that a different outcome would have been certain. However, losing a child changes the way you see maternity care forever.

After Maya’s death, I became pregnant again with my daughter Amelia. This pregnancy was treated as high risk because of my previous loss. The care I received was completely different. My consultant identified that Amelia’s growth had started to slow, and I was placed on weekly ultrasound scans. Amelia was born prematurely at 32 weeks, the day before one of my scheduled scans.

In May 2026, I gave birth to my third daughter, Dunya. Once again, my care reflected my pregnancy history. Whenever I contacted maternity triage with concerns, I was encouraged to come in for assessment and monitoring. Dunya was born healthy at 39 weeks.

Those three pregnancies gave me two very different experiences of maternity care.

For my first pregnancy, I experienced unimaginable loss.

For my later pregnancies, I experienced close monitoring, reassurance and responsive care.

That difference led me to ask one question that became the foundation of this campaign:

Should a woman have to experience the loss of a baby before receiving that level of reassurance and attention?

Listen to Mums is not about blame.

It is not about suggesting that every stillbirth could have been prevented.

It is not about criticising the dedicated NHS professionals who care for families every day.

It is about recognising that every pregnancy matters, every concern deserves to be heard, and maternity care should continue to learn from research, evidence and the experiences of families.

Through this campaign, I hope to encourage evidence-informed discussions about pregnancy assessment, support ongoing research, and provide a platform where families can share their experiences. By working together, we can help shape future improvements in maternity care and ensure that the voices of parents remain an important part of that conversation.

Maya will always be the reason this campaign began.

Every family who shares their story will be the reason it continues.

My story