Lauren Petrie, the Specialist Bereavement Midwife who cared for comedian Russell Howard and his wife Dr Cerys Morgan after the death of their baby son Felix, has revealed she entered midwifery after suffering a stillbirth herself at the same hospital. Petrie, 46, was working in elderly care at Queen Charlotte's & Chelsea Hospital in London when she lost her second daughter, Jada, in 2013, and later retrained at King's College London before joining the hospital's bereavement team. Howard has praised the "extraordinary compassion, kindness and humanity" shown by staff, saying their support helped him and his wife through "the most devastating time of our lives".

Petrie occasionally shares her own experience with grieving parents when it feels appropriate, saying it reassures them that someone understands their loss firsthand. She has since worked with the Government on bereavement care standards and helped create "Jada's room" at the hospital, a soundproofed space fitted with a kettle and a cold cot that lets families spend longer with their baby away from the sounds of the maternity ward. Howard, who was able to hold Felix and spend "precious hours" with him this year, is now setting up The Felix Foundation, a charity to support families affected by miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth and neonatal death.