A MUM whose child was stillborn has spoken of her disgust over a dead-baby joke book.
Kirsty McGurrell, 24, was horrified to discover that online store Amazon is selling The Ultimate Dead Baby Joke Book.
The mum-of-one suffered every parent’s worst nightmare when her first son Louis died just days from his due date, inspiring her to set up the 4Louis charity for bereaved parents.
Kirsty, from Houghton, has branded the publication “disgusting” and has joined a petition to have it removed from sale. She has also written to Prime Minister David Cameron, whose son Ivan, six, died in 2009, to appeal for his help.
“These people are disgusting, it’s so wrong to find humour in such a thing,” she said.
“It’s awful to go through the trauma of losing a child. Even parents who lost their children 18 years ago, still feel the trauma today.
“I can’t believe it’s been published at all, let alone being sold on Amazon.”
The book, priced £10, is filled with jokes about dead babies, including survival tactics, recipes, sex tips, storing tips, eating tips and what to do when the police find you with a dead baby.
In the book’s listing online, the publishers claim: “It has everything inside you could ever need when dealing with a dead baby.”
An online petition to Parliament, on Change.org, against the book has already attracted more than 2,600 signatures.
Kirsty, who is mum to Mitchell, 17 months, said: “Some people who have read it have left comments online saying they think it’s the funniest thing they have ever read. I don’t think they realise what it is like to lose a child.
“I have tried to contact the publishers myself but I have had no response from them.
“I also emailed David Cameron as he knows what it’s like to lose a child but I have had no response from him either.”
She added: “We hope this petition can go some way in stopping the book being sold.”
Since Kirsty set up the 4Louis charity, she has provided hospitals up and down the country with keepsake boxes given to parents affected by stillbirth.
It has inspired a number of spin-off charities which have helped scores of bereaved parents.
Twitter: @sunechokaty
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