UHDB colleague Kate shares her story for World Childless Week 2026 (14-20 September)
This week, Monday 14 - Sunday 20 September 2026, is World Childless Week (WCW) 2026 > - an international awareness campaign that aims to give a voice to those who are childness not by choice. This refers to people who want to become parents but, for a range of reasons and circumstances, have not been able to.
This follows our recent announcement that University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust (UHDB) has become an official Advocate organisation for World Childless Week >, strengthening our commitment to creating an inclusive workplace where all of our colleagues feel seen, supported, and valued. We are delighted to be the first NHS organisation to be made Advocates of such an important and meaningful cause.
As part of this, we heard from Kate Haggan, an Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) in UHDB Respiratory services, who shared her story about discovering World Childless Week, finding support through our Gender Equality Colleague Network, and what childlessness has meant to her personally.
"I decided I wanted to try and change things": Kate's story
Kate Haggan has worked at UHDB for over 21 years, and had always imagined herself having children - but, as she "approached 40 years old," she "came to realise" that she would not have children.
For Kate, finding WCW was an important step in understanding her own experience, and finding a community of people who understood what she was going through. She explained:
"Sometimes the biggest conversations in a workplace begin with something that has rarely been spoken about. For me, that was childlessness.
"As I came to the realisation I would never have children, I turned to the internet, looking for resources and avenues for support, and happened upon WCW. It was a place I could feel safe and recognised. I joined groups as a result of this, as well as watching webinars, films, and even book recommendations from the site.
"I began to wonder why childlessness was so rarely acknowledged in the workplace, when we support other awareness campaigns and wellbeing sessions to support inclusion across so many different and important lived experiences - and I decided I wanted to try and change that."
Kate started to share information with UHDB colleagues about WCW, including reaching out to our Gender Equality Colleague Network for support. The Network, like all of our colleague networks across UHDB, work at all levels of the organisation to embed an inclusive and open culture around gender and issues that affect many of our hard working colleagues, as well as providing a space for them to connect and share experiences.
The Network's Leads, Jorden Gerring and Liam Gravenell, listened to Kate's experience and helped connect her with the Trust's Wellbeing service. Together, they began exploring how WCW could be recognised at UHDB and how colleagues who shared her lived experience could be supported. Kate explained:
I told them my story, and they listened. It wasn't easy to be vulnerable, but they made me feel brave and empowered, as well as offering their own ideas to support me, and others like me.
This led to the creation of a monthly peer support group, alongside wider work to raise awareness of childlessness and share information and resources with colleagues.
For Jorden, this experience demonstrates exactly why colleague networks are so important: "Kate came to us with something that was incredibly personal and difficult to talk about, and our role was simply to listen, understand and ask what we could do to help.
Her story shows the difference that can be made when colleagues feel able to speak up and know that there is a network there to listen to them.
"We were able to make connections, bring people together and help turn that conversation into practical support. It's vital that our networks continue to create space for people to be heard - because often, the first step toward making a difference is simply listening."
Kate said she was "incredibly grateful" to Jorden, Liam and the network team for their support: "Their willingness to listen, make connections and help turn a conversation into action shows just how important staff networks can be when they are well supported and actively engaged.”
For Kate, the importance of being heard and supported extends beyond the peer support group.
She remembers a time when she shared her experience with her manager and asked for support around a particularly significant family Christmas. She was met with kindness and understanding, and together they agreed an arrangement that worked for her and the Trust.
“As I reflect on this now, I realise that I am privileged to work in a team where I trusted my manager with that information and request and was met with kindness and support to come to an agreement that worked for me and the Trust. I know that not everyone feels that way in their workplace or team.”
Kate says that experience is one of the reasons bringing World Childless Week into UHDB’s awareness calendar was so important to her:
“Together, we can start conversations to support our colleagues and ensure everyone is seen and valued.”
Kate's story shows what can happen when colleagues are given the space to be heard – and it's exactly the kind of practical, everyday support our colleague networks > exist to provide.
For more information on World Childless Week, visit worldchildlessweek.net.