The midwife who assisted Russell Howard and his wife in the death of their infant son entered the profession after losing her own child in the same hospital.
Lauren Petrie, 46, a specialist bereavement midwife at Queen Charlotte’s & Chelsea Hospital, retrained as a midwife in 2018 and helped Mr Howard and his wife Cerys Morgan through heartbreak after their baby Felix died shortly after he was born earlier this year.
The comedian, 46, said her care meant “more to us than we can ever put into words.”
He said they were able to spend ‘precious hours with our beautiful boy’ as he was placed in a cool bed and the couple were ‘overwhelmed’ by the care they received.
Ms Petrie was working in aged care at the hospital when she lost her second daughter Jada in similarly devastating circumstances in 2013. She suffered a stillbirth at 41 weeks, which she said “came completely out of the blue.”
Hoping to get something positive out of her grief, she retrained as a midwife at King’s College London before joining her hospital’s grief team.
She told the Daily Mail: ‘I don’t share it with so many patients because I don’t want to take away that person’s grief.
‘It’s not about me and my story, but sometimes you get to know people better and they ask: “How did you deal with it?” or “what did you do physically?” and sometimes that conversation will happen naturally.
Comedian and TV presenter Russell Howard and his wife Dr Cerys Morgan are pictured in 2023
Midwife Lauren Petrie (pictured) helped Russell Howard and his wife through the death of their son and went to work after losing her own child at the same London hospital
‘Carers tell you that it feels very lonely and that no one really understands. I think because I’ve been through it when I tell parents I know what it feels like.’
Mr Howard said hospital staff showed ‘extraordinary compassion, kindness and humanity’ as they suffered ‘the most devastating time of our lives’.
He said: ‘They helped us through unimaginable grief and gave us support when we needed it most.’
Ms Petrie added: ‘They were very grateful when I shared my story with them because they knew I understood. They were reassured because it was someone who had experienced it firsthand.’
She described how some mothers come in for scans completely unaware that there is a problem. Then they suddenly have to think about funeral arrangements, postmortems and whether they want their baby to be blessed by a chaplain. She said she was in shock and couldn’t make her own decisions when she suffered the loss.
The midwife, who has worked with the government to improve standards in bereavement care, is using her experience to develop new treatment techniques at her hospital. One of these is the creation of a soundproof maternity room called ‘Jada’s room’, where mothers and families can stay without hearing the cries of other babies.
It has facilities such as a kettle, allowing families to avoid small talk with new parents on the ward who are unaware of their loss.
It also has a cold bed that keeps babies preserved for longer, allowing parents to spend more time with their child.
Mr Howard said hospital staff showed ‘extraordinary compassion, kindness and humanity’ as they suffered ‘the most devastating time of our lives’.
Mrs Petrie (pictured) lost her second daughter Jada in similarly devastating circumstances in 2013. She suffered a stillbirth at 41 weeks, which ‘came completely out of the blue’
Howard praised the cool bed for allowing him and his wife to hold Felix, “talk to him and tell him how much we loved him.”
He said: ‘Those hours are some of the fondest memories we have of Felix.’
The comedian said he set up the Felix Foundation, a bereavement charity, in memory of his son.
He wrote: ‘The foundation will aim to alleviate the needs of parents, siblings and other close relatives affected by miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth, neonatal death or related bereavement.’
‘Support the additional training of midwives in specialist bereavement care, through annual grants to give them access to resources such as consultancy qualifications.
‘Funding resources to provide emotional support and practical assistance.
‘The provision or financing of dedicated rooms, facilities, equipment and resources in hospitals, maternity wards, neonatal units and other appropriate healthcare settings, to support the care, well-being and dignity of babies and their families.
“Providing information, guidance, signage and other resources to affected families.
‘Raising awareness of late miscarriage, preterm birth, stillbirth, newborn loss and associated grief, and the support needs of affected families.’
Russell revealed that he will be joining his famous comedian friends to host a charity gala at the O2 in London to raise money for bereavement charity The Felix Foundation in memory of his son.
Ms Petrie will help advise on what courses to run and what resources, such as specialist equipment, to use.
In a statement, Russell revealed that he will be hosting a charity gala at the O2 in London with his famous comedian friends to raise money for the foundation.
He said: ‘To help launch the foundation and raise vital funds for this work, I will be hosting a very special charity gala at The O2 in London on February 8, 2027.
‘Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of friends and colleagues, we have managed to put together an incredible line-up of comedians including: Michael McIntyre, Jimmy Carr, Aisling Bea, Guz Khan, Greg Davies, Mo Gilligan, Michelle Wolf and John Bishop.
“Each of these incredible artists gives their time completely free of charge. I will never forget their generosity.
“We would absolutely love it if you could join us for what promises to be a very special evening: a night of comedy, laughter and celebration, all in aid of a cause that means the world to our family.”
He concludes: ‘The Felix Foundation is named after our beautiful son. We miss him dearly every day, but we take some comfort in knowing that his name will stand for kindness, compassion and laughter, and that his legacy can help other families through the darkest moments of their lives.”
“We would love for you to come along and help us make Felix’s legacy something very special.”
Russell is currently touring the UK with Don’t Tell The Algorithm, following a performance at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2026.
Russell and his wife, Cerys, started dating in 2004 when he was 21 and she was 17, before marrying in June 2019. The couple welcomed their first son in 2024.
