Tommy’s and Sands call on MPs to prioritise pregnancy and baby loss

A record number of 335 new MPs were elected at the general election in July. Our joint event with Sands in Parliament was a timely opportunity to share our campaigns with the next generation of MPs, amplify the voices of women and birthing people from our community in Westminster, and to demonstrate how Tommy’s ground-breaking research into miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth is saving babies’ lives.

We were joined by colleagues from Sands and bereaved parents Rossalyn and Amarjit who have experienced baby loss, who spoke to attendees about their campaign to make care safer and save Black and Asian babies’ lives. The Sands and Tommy’s Joint Policy Unit presented the latest data on saving babies' lives to MPs who attended with the ability to drill down to their local constituency. The national maternity safety ambitions for England expire in 2025 and the Joint Policy Unit spoke to attending MPs about the importance of setting new ambitions to reduce perinatal mortality an preterm births and eliminate inequalities.

Oonagh Pickering, a Research Nurse at Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research spoke to policy-makers about the work Tommy’s was doing to better understand and improve maternity care by piloting a new system known as the Graded Model of care where care and support is offered after every miscarriage, with testing and investigations increasing with each loss.

The event, hosted by Olivia Blake MP, was attended by over 50 MPs and/or their parliamentary staff including Andy MacNae (Labour MP for Rossendale and Darwen), Rt Hon Caroline Nokes (Conservative MP for Romsey and Southampton North), Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire) and Adrian Ramsay (Green Party MP for Waveney Valley).

It follows a recent debate in September where MPs from across the political spectrum spoke about the personal impact of stillbirths and miscarriage – providing further proof that pregnancy and baby loss is an issue with cross-party interest and momentum. It also comes just weeks after Health Minister Baroness Merron, visited the Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research where she was able to hear first-hand from patients about the support and care provided by staff at Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research after they had experienced miscarriage and how this had supported successful subsequent pregnancies.

Reflecting on the event, Dr Jyotsna Vohra, Director of Research, Programmes and Impact at Tommy's said: 

“It was a pleasure to meet new and long serving MPs from all corners of the chamber to demonstrate the fantastic work that Tommy’s are doing, through our Joint Policy Unit with our friends at Sands to save babies' lives and our research centres nationally. 

Pregnancy and baby loss is a matter which transcends constituency boundaries and frankly devastates families affected by it. We are encouraged by the clear cross-party support to improve care and outcomes for women and birthing people and to ensure families can bring a baby home. 

Tommy’s are continuing to push for improvements and advances in care to make pregnancy and birth safe for everyone as part of the Government’s NHS consultation. But this can only be the beginning, and we look forward to working with allies across Westminster to make sure pregnancy and baby loss is treated as the political priority it must be.”

Clea Harmer, Chief Executive at Sands said:

"It was really promising to hear how committed so many MPs are to making pregnancy and baby loss the political priority it needs to be, ending inequalities in baby loss, and saving babies' lives. By working together to raise these issues problems with politicians and other decision makers, we will build a more equitable system that gives all families the care they deserve. 

"The Sands and Tommy's Joint Policy Unit is calling for the upcoming 10-year plan for the NHS to put in place new ambitions to save more babies’ lives, including a clear commitment to eliminate inequalities in baby loss, with action across government to make sure more progress is made. 

"Change is possible. We know the current scale of pregnancy and baby loss is not inevitable. That is why we are working together, to save more babies’ lives and tackle inequalities."