A MUM who lost two babies through miscarriage is raising funds for the charity which has provided invaluable support.

Laura Warren is swimming the equivalent length of the River Aire, just over 70 miles, in aid of Saying Goodbye.

She is carrying out the challenge, at swimming pools including Keighley, over a 12-month period.

So far, the 31-year-old from Steeton has completed more than 57 miles.

And she has raised over £300.

"I try to get to the pool two or three times a week if I can," said Laura, who teaches dance but is also training to be a baptist minister.

"It is a challenge that is testing my physical and mental strength and endurance, and some days it takes a lot of drive to keep swimming the lengths.

"But having a purpose and drive to keep going is a big help. The charity is such a good cause."

Laura, who is married to software test consultant Chris, miscarried for the first time in the summer of 2015 and again the following February.

Both losses were within the first nine weeks of pregnancy.

"Having no public recognition of my babies – along with the trauma of their loss – sent me spiralling downwards and led me into the depths of depression and anxiety," said Laura.

"When parents go through the devastating loss of a baby – whether during pregnancy, at birth or in infancy – they often feel isolated and unable to process the overwhelming grief and trauma that miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal and early years loss brings.

"This was my experience when we lost our babies, and yet I did my best to hide my feelings from people around me."

She said it was especially difficult to keep her feelings from their young son Jamie, who is now three.

Laura came across Saying Goodbye – part of the Mariposa Trust – on Facebook in the summer of last year, and attended one of the remembrance services it stages internationally for anyone who has lost a baby.

"I'd been struggling for a while but that was the start of the recovery," she said.

"Having that space to publicly celebrate the babies we lost gave me some peace that I'd previously been unable to attain.

"The services – at cathedrals, minsters and abbeys – allow parents and their extended family and friends to acknowledge and remember each child they have lost in a supportive and beautiful way.

"The Mariposa Trust also provides a range of other support options, including online help, befriending and therapy.

"And it is raising money for a helpline.

"The support and care I have received from this charity has made the world of difference to me and has enabled me to move forwards. I felt like I was able to 'come back' to my family and friends, especially Jamie.

"I want to help other people make that same journey from despair back to life and raise as much money as possible to enable the wonderful work of Saying Goodbye to continue and grow."

Laura became a fundraising champion for the trust in January this year and aims to coin-in £500 through her Swimming on Aire challenge.

She has set-up an online fundraising page at mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/laurawarren1.

For more details about Saying Goodbye, visit sayingoodbye.org or search on social media.