A Northumberland MP has opened up about the devastating loss of his twin boys.
Hexham MP Guy Opperman and his wife Flora tragically lost their babies, Teddy and Rafe, just days after they were born two years ago.
This summer the Conservative MP took to social media to announce the birth of their third so n, Christopher Coleman Opperman, who was born at St Thomas' Hospital Trust in London.
READ MORE: Workbook with distressing notes found in bedroom of girl, 12, who died after bullying, inquest hears
Now, Mr Opperman has opened up about how they dealt with the trauma of losing their twin boys as part of Baby Loss Awareness Week.
Speaking on TalkTV's First Edition with Tom Newton Dunn, Mr Opperman said: "We have navigated our emotions, our sadness, our grief, over the last two years to the best of our abilities, to be honest.
"The twins were a product of IVF and many, many years of trying so the loss of them was genuinely awful but you learn things along the way and also try to navigate through the system as best we can."
Mr Opperman, who was elected in 2010, returned to work after the loss.
He said: "I did five parliamentary bills and acts of parliament in the following year and a half. You just keep going, I think you hope you have a strong marriage or relationship and the two of you stick together the best of your ability.
"I think you also try and look forward. The truth is we have two children already, we just didn't get to take them home.
"So you try for a third child and fortunately, as you know, we had young Kitto who was born 10 weeks ago.
"This time we got to take our child home."
Mr Opperman supports calls for those that who lose a baby before 24 weeks who don't get paid leave to get the same support as those who lose a baby after 24 weeks.
He said: "100%, it is something I think the Government supports as well. It is a bill that is going through the House of Commons and it is something the previous administration supported and I think it will continue.
"I spent six days in St Thomas' Hospital as we tried to save the two children and the youngest was born and them ultimately died.
"We were in a position where we had to go home and the idea you have to go back to work the next day is naïve and also no one would be productive that next day.
"You want to try and look after your staff and you want to try and help people through that.
"I think the state, should to the best of its ability, provide some degree of assistant."
When asked about the disparity of care women receive from the NHS, Mr Opperman said: "So I think it is very easy to be critical of the NHS and I think that would be wrong, I think doctors do try their hardest to explain what has gone wrong.
"Preterm rupture of the membranes for example, which Laura went through, is something that is hard to know why that occurred. Trust me, you spend a lot of time trying to work out what you did wrong in anyway whatsoever.
"You probably did nothing wrong whatsoever, nature probably decided to go a particular course.
"So I think the doctors do try what I don't think there is is a consistency of standard. How your baby is treated and the approach of the NHS is not consistent, it varies from trust to trust."
On getting through the loss of a baby, he said: "Hug everybody closely, be kind to yourself, don't blame yourselves, that way there are very dark places that are hard to get out of and try to remember the circumstances you have been through."
Watch First Edition with Tom Newton Dunn on TalkTV. Find TalkTV on Sky 526, Virgin Media 606, Freeview 237, Freesat 217 and Sky Glass 508, live and on demand on the TalkTV app, streaming services and at Talk.TV.
Read more:
-
'Lessons to learn' following death of Odessa Carey review into mental health tragedy finds
-
Gateshead teen saved mum from murderous attack by her dad by stabbing him in the head
-
Bedlington mechanic used parts from stolen cars to fix up and sell written-off vehicles
-
Ponteland woman to be first ever contestant with a prosthetic eye to compete in Miss England final
