The Countess of Wessex will officially open a bereavement suite at Medway Maritime Hospital for families who have lost a baby.

The rooms will give parents somewhere they can grieve and say goodbye when a baby is stillborn or dies soon after birth.

It has been funded by Abigail’s Footsteps, a charity set up by Rochester couple David and Jo Ward, in memory of their daughter Abigail.

Work started earlier this year when the first hammer went through the wall on what would have been Abigail’s seventh birthday. The rooms, which have been named Abigail’s Place, are now complete.

They will be used if needed before the official opening on Tuesday, November 1 by Sophie, Countess of Wessex.

Abigail’s Footsteps vice-president Cheryl Baker visited the suite for a sneak preview last week, along with other members of the charity and some of those who helped build the rooms.

Cheryl said: "At a time in parents’ lives when their world has crashed around them, it is a place of tranquility and calm, and which, I believe, will help to ease their pain."

Lady Astor of Hever, charity patron, said: “Although nothing can replace a child, this beautiful bereavement suite will give the parents and families the space and peace that they so desperately need at this tragic time.

“This hospital had nothing to offer and now it does. I am so happy to be a part of this process.”

The Wards, of Priestfields, Rochester, have previously helped contribute towards the design of the hospital’s original bereavement room, when it was refurbished in 2013.

The new suite builds on that, giving parents more time and space to be with their babies.

It is away from the maternity ward and is soundproof so parents can grieve on their own, without the sound of newborns and happy families nearby, something Mr and Mrs Ward found heartbreaking when they lost Abigail in 2009.

Mr Ward said: “We believe that every maternity unit should have a purpose-built bereavement suite where parents can spend precious time with their stillborn baby away from the cries of newborns.”

Singer and presenter Cheryl Baker raised more than £30,000 for the suite through stage and TV appearances.

Umbra Services, Furniture Village, Abacus Blinds, Iceland Gillingham and Medway League of Friends also supported the project.