OFFLOAD: No dad should carry the weight of baby loss alone

OFFLOAD is an Aching Arms campaign, dedicated to supporting Dads in the construction industry who have experienced pregnancy and baby loss, helping them feel seen, heard and understood in their workplace. 

Baby Loss is devastating, and for many bereaved Dads, there is often little space to grieve, share their feelings or seek support. Men often feel like working environments adopt a tough, no-nonsense culture which makes opening up about feelings after baby loss extremely difficult and uncomfortable for many.

We believe no Dad should have to carry this weight alone. 

What we know

• 1 in 4 pregnancies end in loss.
• Approximately 3,000 babies will be stillborn each year.
• Only 13% of companies have paid leave for partners.
• 87% of construction workers will experience anxiety.
• According to ONS, those that work in the construction industry are 4 times more likely to take their own life.

How we can help you

Aching Arms offers comfort and support to bereaved families, we do this by providing comfort bears to bereaved families that have experienced the loss of baby, during pregnancy, at birth or soon after. You can find out more about Aching Arms bears here.

We also provide support 'Supporting Arms' to anyone effected by the loss of a baby. Our support service gives you the opportunity to talk to someone who has an understanding of what you’re going through. If you would like to talk about your feelings, share your experience or want some advice, we can help.

Dedicated support for Dads - Supporting Arms for Dads.

We understand that sometimes Dads who have lost their baby need the opportunity to talk with other Dads who have gone through a similar experience, and we offer a monthly online group just for Dads, offering the chance to gain support and comfort from speaking to others. The group is facilitated by Tom Donaldson, a bereaved Dad and member of our Supporting Arms Team.

Monthly Online Support
Meetings are held on the first Monday of each month at 7:30pm (unless otherwise specified) and to get the Microsoft Teams link for each meeting please contact dadsupport@achingarms.co.uk.

We also have a telephone helpline just for dads who would like to speak 1;1 to another bereaved dad, the number for this is 07754 436133.

Our Guide for Bereaved Dads

We have a book, ‘You are a dad…. You always will be’ especially for bereaved Dads that provides information on our support services for dads, and ways in which Dads can navigate the early months of pregnancy and baby loss. 

We also have further information available for Dads here.

In the Workplace

Aching Arms' advocates for the improvement of bereavement care both in healthcare settings and also the workplace. We want to ensure that environments are compassionate, inclusive and that policies are in place to support bereaved families and we are working with the construction industry to ensure men are supported in the workplace as best as possible when they experience the loss if their baby. 

Get involved

Can you help us with our OFFLOAD campaign? We need supporters that can help us by:

• Champion - Can you be a representative in your company with the construction industry to help advocate for bereaved Dads and sign post them to where they can receive support.
•  Train - Work with us to provide training for your HR staff, Line Managers, Site Managers and colleagues to equip them with the skills to support bereaved colleagues in the workplace.
• Expand - Can you help us with funding to expand our support services with the construction industry?
• Support - Can you work with us to make support services available to your employees and ensure policies are inclusive and compassionate
• Awareness - Raise awareness of our services so that we can reach more bereaved Dads and display our OFFLOAD campaign information in prominent places.

Sign up to Support our OFFLOAD Campaign

For further information, please contact Helen Gallagher - 07730 285 092 or by email: helen@achingarms.co.uk.