WATER Babies across Wiltshire are taking part in Splashathon, the fundraising campaign to raise money for baby charity Tommy’s.

Hundreds of babies, aged from 12 weeks to four, will be helping save other babies' lives by swimming a width in pirate, prince and princess fancy dress. The money they raise will go to Tommy’s to fund further research into miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth.

Youngsters at Water Babies classes at Church Farm, Winsley, near Bradford on Avon, joined in the fun on Friday (July 14), with little swimmers who go to classes at Larkrise School, Trowbridge, and St Nicholas School, Chippenham, taking part on Thursday (July 13). St Nicholas also held a session on Saturday (July 15).

Having raised £816,477 in 2015, this year’s Splashathon hopes to break the £1 million mark. This will help up to 60,000 families visit Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research, and realise their dream of having a baby. At present, one in four women in the UK lose a baby during pregnancy or just after birth. Around one in every 27 babies are stillborn a year, equivalent to 10 babies a day, and 684 babies are miscarried every day.

The Splashathon coincides with research released by the charity which found:

BLOB Nearly two-thirds (59 per cent) of mothers with children under three experience feelings of loneliness daily

BLOB One in ten feel they lack support from those around them during the first years of a child’s birth

BLOB One in five spend more than 12 hours alone with their baby at weekends

The research went on to show that whilst three-quarters (79 per cent) of new mothers said they received post-natal support from family members, over a quarter (27 per cent) said that social physical activity, such as baby yoga or swimming, gave them the most support in terms of improving their own mental wellbeing (65 per cent), and reducing feelings of isolation, depression and loneliness (74 per cent).