Difficulty during the birth of her first child put Sharon Underwood’s introduction to parenthood into perspective.

Cradling her new-born son following a complex delivery, Sharon thought about parents whose babies had died, and no doubt she cuddled him closer.

“Thanks to the skill and expertise of the medical and midwifery staff, I had a healthy son to bring home. I came to realise that this may have not been the case, and how grateful I was,” says Sharon. “It made me think a little bit more about pregnancy and birth and what a miracle it is.”

Sharon put her thoughts into action and, for the past 14 years, she has dedicated her spare time, between working as a part-time community nurse and bringing up her three children, to raising funds for the national baby charity Tommy’s.

She found out about Tommy’s and its research into the causes of premature births, stillbirths and miscarriages through a leaflet about the charity’s Parent Friendly Awards.

“I felt so fortunate my baby had survived, I wanted to raise some money. I did a small raffle and sent £100 to the charity,” she says.

Sadly, Sharon’s second pregnancy ended in miscarriage as did her third, before the arrival of a daughter.

“This made my husband and I more passionate about the cause and the need to find answers as to why this happened,” she says.

Sharon stepped up her fundraising with discos and children’s treasure hunts. “We raised £190 just with the family,” she says.

“Then I had a phone call from a lady in London who basically said I’d been fundraising wonderful amounts and had I thought about setting up a fundraising branch?”

She talked Sharon through what it would entail and introduced her to other Bradford women who had been through similar experiences.

Wendy Brown, Elaine Law and Jayne McArdle all share the heartache of losing a child.

Wendy lost her baby at 39 weeks. A friend introduced her to Tommy’s and she’s been fundraising ever since.

The mum-of-two from Thackley says she will never forget the child she lost. “This was a way of doing something for the child I lost,” she says. “I also wanted to do something positive to help other people who may be in that situation and, hopefully, stop them getting in that situation.”

She added: “The things Tommy’s do are fun, a way of doing something positive out of what has happened. Not only that, but they are a great bunch of ladies who understand what you’re going through.”

Elaine Law lost her baby in 1980. “In those days it was something you didn’t really talk about so that’s how it was – I just remember in my heart,” she says.

Elaine, from Idle, attended her first meeting after spotting an information display about Tommy’s in a supermarket. “I was overwhelmed to meet so many others who had suffered miscarriages, premature births and stillbirths, but who wanted to make something positive out of their tragedy.”

Elaine, who has two daughters aged 24 and 26, joined Tommy’s in 1997. As secretary, she is currently planning a forthcoming fundraiser – a celebrity auction in September. “I am totally passionate about what Tommy’s stands for and all it does… and through the group I’ve made some wonderful friends.

“Between us we have all evolved and been there for each other.”

Jayne McArdle suffered the devastating loss of twin daughters 14 years ago. Victoria and Stephanie were born prematurely at 24 weeks.

Jayne and husband Steve, from Queensbury, were eventually blessed with their daughter Georgina, now 13, prompting their involvement with Tommy’s Yorkshire.

Jayne recalls reading an article in the Telegraph & Argus about the former chairman of the Tommy’s Yorkshire branch. “It mirrored my story a bit and I thought, ‘there are other people out there.’ I went to a meeting and I’ve been involved ever since.

“Over the years it has really helped me. It is as though I am doing something positive. I thought if I can stop one family going through what we went through, then I have achieved something. I want to let people know there is hope and to raise awareness because you don’t realise until it happens to you how many people suffer.”

Jayne never stops thinking about her twin daughters. Her daughter Georgina is also conscious about the sisters she never knew, and often helps her mum out with fundraising events.

“You learn to cope with it,” says Jayne. “You have to accept it and move on, but they are always with you in your mind.”

She says parents involved with Tommy’s Yorkshire have an empathy and support each other. Jayne tells me it isn’t a counselling service, it’s a group of friends being there for one another. “It is positive, raising awareness and money, and it’s very family-orientated,” says Jayne.

She credits Sharon and Elaine, describing them as the backbone of the branch. “They are so important. They hold it together,” says Jayne. “We may not see each other all the time, but they are there for you. They are there if you need them.”

Stuart Senior is the charity’s webmaster. He and his wife Nanette, who run an IT company, became involved in Tommy’s Yorkshire after losing a premature twin.

Christopher was six months old when he died 12 years ago. His surviving sister, Emma, is now a teenager, and the couple have another son, James.

Stuart explains how Nanette and Sharon became pals through nursing in Leeds. When Sharon set up Tommy’s in Yorkshire they wanted to be involved. “You feel that because you’ve been through it you want to end the heartbreak,” says Stuart. “Indir-ectly you’re supporting other people through research, where this money goes, or by supporting and assisting people who are going through it because you have been there.”

The fundraisers’ inaugural event was a fashion show at the Midland Hotel in Bradford in 1997.

Other fundraising events have included dinner dances, Eighties-themed discos, a fun day in association with Baby Ballet, involving Emmerdale stars, and a staggering £10,000 raised at a memorial dinner held in remembrance of Bradford motorbiking champion David Jefferies. All the events have contributed to the phenomenal £45,000 the branch has raised so far.

Emma Carlisle, events and community fundraiser for Tommy’s, says: “The Yorkshire group’s continued support and the generosity of residents of Leeds and Bradford will all go towards giving babies the best start in life.

“With one-in-four women losing a baby in pregnancy or birth, there is still such a great deal of work to be done. Tommy’s is always looking at new research which will help us get to our goal of halving the number of babies that die by 2030.”

* For more information about the Yorkshire branch, visit tommysinyorkshire.co.uk or call (01274) 621956.

Fact File

* Tommy’s was launched in 1992 by two obstetricians and a mother who had a single goal: to make pregnancy and childbirth safer for expectant mothers and their babies.

* It has one of the biggest pregnancy-specific research networks in the world with centres in London, Manchester and Edinburgh.

* Tommy’s also supplies information about pregnancy health issues to health professionals and parents-to-be. It aims to ensure information on health in pregnancy and reducing the risk of problems is available to all parents-to-be in the UK, reducing the number of babies’ lives lost.

* For more help, call the information line, staffed by trained midwives, for anyone with pregnancy worries or queries, on 0870 7773060.