News from the Room
I watched the new Fantastic Four film this week. And in it, Reed Richards and Sue Storm’s baby son, Franklin, becomes a focal point for the antagonist.
Now, I knew Marvel wasn’t about to release a movie where a baby dies. But still, I felt this familiar sense of dread creeping in.
I’ve noticed that any time I watch a film or read a story that includes a baby or a pregnant mother, I automatically tense up. Even when I logically know the baby probably won’t be harmed or lost, my body still braces. There’s an anxiety that kicks in. A caution.
It reminded me of the latest season of Squid Game, where they introduced a baby into the story. The baby was constantly at risk of being killed, and I genuinely couldn’t keep watching without first checking online to see if it survived. If it didn’t, I don’t think I could’ve finished the series.
I don’t really have a neat takeaway or clear message this week, just a question.
Does anyone else in this baby loss community feel the same?
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This Week at Room Eleven
Scooting for Hope Update
Things are moving along with the Scooting for Hope event.
We had a great meeting with the livestream team, and also connected with a potential sponsor who not only had some solid ideas, but a big network that could help bring in more support and funding.
Waves of Change & the Bereaved Parents Workshop
It’s been a huge week for baby loss advocacy and research.
On Thursday, I had the privilege of helping facilitate the bereaved parents workshop, working alongside researchers, clinicians, politicians, and other bereaved parents.
We heard an update on the current stillbirth research and had some frank conversations about the work still needed, especially around national consistency in data collection and terminology.
It was also just great to meet so many people I’d only seen on Zoom or social media, and to reconnect with familiar faces I tend to only cross paths with at these kinds of events.
Then on Saturday, I co-chaired a session at the Waves of Change conference, held at the Brisbane Exhibition Centre. We had an audience of around 300 people, doctors, midwives, researchers, and parents.
Some truly passionate and inspiring clinicians shared what they’re working on, and the hope is that these findings will lead to more babies being brought home safely.
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Weekly Musings
What I’m Watching: The Fantastic Four: First Steps
This 3rd reboot gives Marvel’s original superhero team a fresh start. When Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben are exposed to cosmic energy during an interdimensional mission, they gain extraordinary powers. As they come to terms with what they've become, their family is tested by a new threat, one with their son Franklin at the centre.
It felt good to get back into a Marvel film that:
1. looked visually different, and
2. wasn’t tied to the main MCU storyline.
The cast worked, especially Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm, whose chemistry was spot-on. But something about Reed and Sue didn’t click for me. I haven’t worked out exactly why, but maybe it’s that they cast strong individual actors rather than finding the right dynamic together. Something James Gunn absolutely nailed with his Superman casting.
The CGI felt a bit uncanny at times, which was surprising given the budget. It makes me wonder if there were some last-minute VFX changes they couldn’t finish properly. That said, the Silver Surfer looked fantastic.
Overall, it was enjoyable. Definitely rewatchable. I think it’ll become one of those movies I stop on when I’m scrolling.
What I’m Reading: I am Legend - Richard Matheson
Robert Neville is the last known human in a world overrun by vampiric creatures. Every day he scavenges to survive, and every night he locks himself inside, haunted by memories, regret, and loneliness. As time passes, Neville starts to question everything, including who the real monster is.
I come back to this book every few years. It’s short, easy to read, and way better than the film version.
At first glance, it’s a vampire story, but really, it’s about survival, isolation, and what it means to be human. Most of the book is Neville trying to figure out who he is now that the world has changed beyond recognition.
And slowly, he starts to realise that he’s not just the last of his kind, he’s also become the thing others fear.
Highly recommend the audiobook too. The narrator nails the tone perfectly.
What stood out most this week wasn’t just the conversations happening in research or policy, it was the people having them. Bereaved parents, doctors, midwives, researchers, advocates. All in the same room, working toward the same goal: to make sure more babies come home safely.
It reminded me how powerful community can be. Real change doesn’t happen in isolation, it happens when people come together, share their stories, and back each other.
That’s what this work is about. That’s what Room Eleven is about.
Thanks for being part of it.
See you next week.
Rob
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