A GREENOCK mum is on a mission to help pregnant women after her best friend suffered the agony of losing her newborn baby.

Catriona Anderson has become a volunteer with Count the Kicks – a charity which aims to reduce the UK’s current stillbirth rates by educating pregnant women on the importance of monitoring their baby’s movements and reporting any change in their baby’s regular pattern of movement.

The 32-year-old teacher said she decided to become involved with the charity after her best friend Suzanne Hair was left devastated at the stillbirth of her daughter Brogan at 39 weeks — just one week before her due date.

Catriona, who lives with her fiance Steven Freeman and their six-month-old son Caleb in Watt Street, told the Tele: “My best friend Suzanne sadly lost her baby just before she was due to give birth. She’s been through the worst nightmare.

“If Suzanne had known what she knows now about baby movements then she would have contacted a midwife and not waited.

“We don’t know if it would have made a difference but had she known she would have went to see about it that day.” Mum-of-three Suzanne and her partner Kenneth Caldwell were overjoyed when they found out she was pregnant.

During her pregnancy Suzanne was admitted to hospital twice suffering from dehydration but was told there was nothing to worry about.

Just one week before she was due to give birth in June 2011, Suzanne noticed that her baby had stopped kicking.

She said: “I was sitting in the garden with my sister-in-law and I mentioned that I hadn’t felt her move that day but she reassured me and said the baby had probably moved and I hadn’t felt her.

“I waited all night for her to kick and by 7am that morning she still hadn’t, so I went to hospital.” The couple’s worst fears were realised when nurses and midwives carried out an ultrasound scan but could not find the baby’s heartbeat.

Suzanne added: “I was numb after they did the first test and found there was no heartbeat.

“I was hoping that it was going to be a problem with the machine.

“But they scanned me again and it showed that there was nothing.

“I felt like my world had collapsed.” Suzanne is heartened that Catriona is working closely with the charity to educate mums-to-be on the importance of monitoring baby movements and to seek advice when a change to normal patterns occur.

She said: “I think what Catriona is doing is wonderful.

“A lot of people are under the illusion that a baby’s movements slow down during the later stages due to the baby having less room, but none of that is true. So it’s great to have this charity out there to educate pregnant women and to advise them.” As part of her charity work, Catriona is rolling out a recycling scheme across the area.

She said: “As a volunteer regional collector, the waste that I collect and send to the recycling company is turned into funds for the charity.

“The items that I am currently collecting are empty baby wipe packets and empty baby food pouches.

“I have been contacting local nurseries and children’s centre’s to ask if they would be willing to have a collection box for staff and parents to leave their items.

“The response has been extremely positive so far but I would like to spread the word.” Information about the charity is available in Bounty Packs or by visiting the charity’s website at www.countthekicks.org.uk or go to Catriona’s ‘Count The Kicks Inverclyde’ Facebook page.