MPs call for action on miscarriage and stillbirth
In a Parliamentary debate in Westminster Hall yesterday, MPs from across the political spectrum spoke about the personal impact of stillbirth and miscarriage.
The two-hour cross-party debate highlighted the need for more research and better support around baby loss, as MPs movingly shared their own and constituents’ experiences.
It was a powerful reminder that pregnancy and baby loss devastate far too many lives, and of why we’re determined to change things for every family affected.
Our research shows that so many losses can be prevented by giving everyone access to safe, evidence-based care.
Currently, there are unacceptable differences in experiences across the UK and these disparities are growing. We need to act now to give families the best possible chance to take a healthy baby home.
The debate on preventable baby loss was introduced by Lee Anderson MP, who shared the experiences of four families from his Nottinghamshire constituency who have lost children to stillbirth and believe inadequate care was at least partly to blame.
"Every preventable stillbirth, neonatal death or infant death is a tragedy,” Mr Anderson said.
Tommy’s supporter Olivia Blake MP said the issue of baby loss was ‘deeply personal’ for her.
“I am sad to say that I have not yet had my rainbow baby,” she said.
Ms Blake has campaigned alongside Tommy’s for changes to miscarriage care in the UK so that women and birthing people do not have to experience three consecutive miscarriages before being able to access care.
Sharon Hodgson MP, who co-founded the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Baby Loss in 2016, said stillbirth was ‘one of the last taboos’.
She lost her baby daughter Lucy in 2005. As Lucy was born at just under 24 weeks, it was classed as a miscarriage, not a stillbirth, so there is no official record of her death.
Ms Hodgson said:
“No one knows what to say to you when you have lost a baby or given birth to a stillborn baby—it is everyone’s worst nightmare—so I did not talk about it, and I certainly did not tell anyone new to my life who had not known me before I lost Lucy.”
She called for action to tackle disparities in maternal healthcare, pointing out that babies of Black ethnicity are twice as likely to be stillborn as babies of White ethnicity.
“It is a failure of our healthcare system that babies of Black and Asian ethnicity continue to have much higher rates of neonatal mortality. Disgracefully, that disparity is also seen in maternal healthcare. Maternal mortality for Black women is currently almost four times higher than for White women.”
Ms Blake urged health ministers in the new Labour government to visit Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research in Birmingham and see for themselves the work being done there to improve care and support for families.
She visited the centre herself last year, along with Tommy’s ambassador Myleene Klass and the then Minister for Women’s Health, Maria Caulfield, to hear about the ‘graded model’ of miscarriage care.
This gives women and birthing people guaranteed access to psychological support after their first miscarriage, with investigative tests offered after a second loss and consultant-led care after a third. It was recommended in the independent 2023 Pregnancy Loss Review and is being piloted by the Tommy’s team in Birmingham.
Ms Blake told MPs: “We are waiting for the results of the pilot, but I hope the Government will take seriously that change in the model of care, which is backed up by research.”
She said visitors to the Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research would also meet the families who Tommy’s had helped to have their rainbow children.
Ms Blake said: “It was incredibly rewarding to hear their stories about how small changes in care can really make that difference and allow people to have the families they so desperately need, while remembering the children they were unable to hold in good health.
“It has been brilliant to work with Tommy’s and Sands for several years, pushing for meaningful and long-overdue changes.”
Speaking on behalf of the Government, the Minister for Secondary Care, Karin Smyth, welcomed the Tommy’s graded model of care pilot scheme.
“[M]y ministerial colleague will be looking closely at those recommendations.
“As a new Government, we want to end sticking-plaster politics; that means real and lasting change in the health service. That will take time, but we will build a better future for women in this country. That includes by making sure that all baby deaths that can be prevented will be prevented.”
We’re here to make sure that reducing pregnancy and baby loss and tackling inequalities are high on the new Government’s list of priorities.
You can read more in our report from the Sands & Tommy’s Joint Policy Unit, where we’ve identified the 5 key steps they’ll need to take to deliver on these aims.