Russell Howard pictured in 2021 Comedian Russell Howard has announced that his baby son, Felix, died earlier this year. In an emotional social media post shared on Friday morning, Russell explained that he and his wife, Cerys, had suffered a devastating loss, which has now inspired them to help others in similar situations. “Earlier this year, our family changed forever when our beautiful baby boy, Felix, died shortly after birth,” Russell wrote. “During the most devastating time of our lives, the hospital staff who cared for us showed extraordinary compassion, kindness and humanity. They helped us navigate an unimaginable heartache and gave us support when we needed it most.” He explained: “We were assigned a bereavement midwife, Lauren, who had experienced a similar tragedy. After losing her own baby, Lauren retrained as a midwife so that she could help other families going through what she had been through. Her care meant more to us than we can ever put into words. “During our time in hospital, Felix was placed in a cool cot, which meant that my wife and I were able to spend precious hours with our beautiful boy. We could hold him, talk to him and tell him just how much we loved him. Those hours are among the most precious memories we have of Felix. “We were overwhelmed by the care we received, and we made a promise to each other: that we would try to help other families who find themselves facing the same devastating circumstances.” As a result, the couple have launched a charity in their late son’s memory, named The Felix Foundation, which will endeavour to help families “affected by miscarriage premature birth, stillbirth, neonatal death or related bereavement”. The Felix Foundation’s aims include “sSupporting the additional training of midwives in specialist bereavement care”, “funding resources to provide emotional support and practical assistance”, “providing or funding dedicated rooms, facilities, equipment and resources within hospitals, maternity units, neonatal units and other appropriate healthcare settings” and “raising awareness of late miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth, neonatal loss and related bereavement”, as well as “the support needs of affected families”. Russell noted: “The Felix Foundation is named after our beautiful son. We miss him dearly, every single day, but we take some comfort in knowing that his name will stand for kindness, compassion and laughter, and that his legacy may help other families through the darkest moments of their lives.” View this post on Instagram In his post, Russell announced that a charity gala in aid of The Felix Foundation would take place at London’s O2 Arena on Monday 8 February, the line-up for which currently includes John Bishop, Jimmy Carr and Aisling Bea, among others. The former Mock The Week panellist and his wife are also parents to a two-year-old son. “I’ve never been happier or more tired than I’ve felt since becoming a dad,” he told The i last year. “The other day, my son came up to me and just put his head on my inner arm and relaxed into me. It gave me this cosmic feeling of otherworldly happiness. So simple and obvious. I thought, ‘Isn’t it amazing what we human beings can do for each other’.” Help and support: Sands works to support anyone affected by the death of a baby. Tommy’s fund research into miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth, and provide pregnancy health information to parents. Saying Goodbye offers support for anyone who has suffered the loss of a baby during pregnancy, at birth or in infancy.