A Warrington family facing the heartbreaking inquest into the death of their baby son is determined to turn their devastating loss into a campaign to help improve maternity safety for other families.
Gemma and Nick Ball have launched the Callum Ball Legacy Project in memory of their son Callum, who was born at Warrington Hospital on April 28, 2025.
Callum was subsequently transferred to Liverpool Women’s Hospital, where, according to his family, he died the following day. He was just one day old.
Now, as his family prepares to face an inquest into his death on October 1 and 2, they are asking the public to support a fundraising appeal which they hope will eventually develop into a registered charity.
The family’s aim is to raise awareness of maternity safety and provide support to other parents who have experienced the devastating loss of a baby.
For Gemma, Nick and their family, the coming week will be incredibly difficult.
The inquest is expected to examine the circumstances surrounding Callum’s birth and death, and the family say they are anxious about what it may reveal.
According to the family, Callum suffered hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) and multiple skull fractures.
Those are serious claims which will form part of the evidence and circumstances surrounding the inquest.
The family now hope that, whatever the inquest reveals, Callum’s name can become associated not only with their loss but with a determination to make maternity care safer for others.
Their message is simple:No family should have to endure what they have endured.
The Callum Ball Legacy Project has been created to raise awareness of maternity safety and support families who find themselves facing experiences of loss.
The family is in the process of launching a registered charity, allowing them to develop its work and reach other parents affected by maternity-related trauma and baby loss.
The fundraising appeal has already raised more than £700.
Every contribution will help the family with the process of establishing the project as a charity and building a legacy in Callum’s name.
Behind the campaign is a family still coming to terms with the loss of their son.
For his parents and family, there will be no first birthday, no first steps, no first day at school and no opportunity to watch him grow up.
Instead, they are preparing to sit through an inquest which they hope will provide answers about what happened to their little boy.
That makes the next few weeks particularly difficult. But they are determined that Callum’s story should not end with the inquest.
They want his name to live on through a project that could help other families and contribute to a wider conversation about maternity safety.
The family says the project is ultimately about turning unimaginable grief into something constructive.
Their fundraising appeal says the project will seek to raise awareness and provide support to other families who have experienced similar losses.
They are hoping Warrington people will get behind Callum’s legacy.
The family’s GoFundMe appeal can be found here:
Callum Ball Legacy Project fundraising appeal CLICK HERE.
As Callum’s family prepares for the inquest on October 1 and 2, they face questions no parent should ever have to ask.
But through the pain, they are trying to create something that could help others.
A legacy for a little boy whose life was tragically short – but whose family hopes his name can make a lasting difference.
