Parents who lose a baby before 24 weeks of pregnancy can apply for a certificate today to have their grief formally recognized for the first time.
The plan will be voluntary and ministers say it will remain up to all parents to manage their grief “as they see fit”.
Babies born before 24 weeks do not need to be officially registered, which makes some moms and dads feel ignored.
The new certificates can be applied for free online from 9am and will be available to any parent who has suffered an early pregnancy loss since September 2018.
They will be official documents but not legal.
The Government will issue voluntary baby loss certificates to support parents who have suffered a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks
Ministers are considering plans to widen the eligibility criteria for a certificate and whether bereaved parents should be granted statutory work leave.
The idea for the certificate came about as part of the Government’s response to the Independent Review of Pregnancy Loss.
The government says it is “committed to ensuring that bereaved parents feel supported through their grief and acknowledge their loss, acknowledging their pain and ensuring they feel heard.”
On a visit to a family bereavement center in a maternity unit, Maria Caulfield, Minister for Women’s Health Strategy, said parents who lose a baby before 24 weeks may feel there is a “lack of recognition of that baby.”
Speaking at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, south-west London, he said: “Getting an official certificate means a lot.”
‘Parents feel that it is very important to see their baby’s name on a certificate that they can share with family and friends and remember that baby.
‘We’ve had parents trial the system, so it’s taken a little longer than we would have liked to get it up and running.
“It’s a very difficult time for parents, even if they don’t do it right away… so we want to make it as easy as possible.”
The minister was shown the unit’s specialist bereavement room, which offers a comforting and private environment for families facing the emotional and physical challenges of perinatal loss.
The suite at St George’s was renovated in October after the family of a baby who died after birth raised more than £80,000 for its renovation.
Not all hospitals have these types of facilities, and during the visit the midwives told Ms Caulfield that they should be “standard” in maternity units.
The minister said: “It is crucial to have a facility like this where mothers are not in a maternity ward, where they have the time and space to be with their baby before they have to leave hospital.”
Asked about calls to introduce statutory leave for bereaved parents who have lost a baby before 24 weeks, he said: “We are looking into that.”
Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said: “Losing a baby can be a hugely traumatic event and the introduction of certificates to formally recognize the loss of life is a positive step towards better supporting affected women and parents.”
Reacting to the announcement of the scheme, Kath Abrahams, chief executive of Tommy’s, the pregnancy and baby loss research charity, said: “This announcement will be warmly welcomed by many in our community.
‘The pain of losing a baby before 24 weeks is often made even worse for grieving parents because there is no formal recognition of their experience.
“We are pleased that infant loss certificates are now available to provide some degree of comfort to at least some of those families.”
But Ms Abrahams said miscarriage remains a “largely hidden problem” due to the government’s lack of commitment to collecting statistics on the issue.
“We believe, however, that more should be done to formally record losses before 24 weeks,” he continued.
‘We cannot begin to address the wider issue of baby loss without the government’s commitment to collecting and recording statistics on miscarriages across the UK.
“Without data, miscarriage remains a largely hidden problem and is not prioritized, even though tens of thousands of families suffer from it each year.”
The new scheme launches today only in England, although people in Scotland can now apply to have their loss recorded in the Pregnancy and Baby Loss Before 24 Weeks Memorial Book, and receive a certificate of inclusion in the book.
Ruth Bender Atik, national director of the Miscarriage Association, said: “For many, if not most people, even the earliest loss can be deeply distressing, both emotionally and physically.”
‘It means the loss not only of this pregnancy but also of the hopes, plans and dreams they had for this new life.
‘And not having a formal acknowledgment or sign of your loss can compound your pain.
“The new certification system will make a really positive difference to many people who have experienced pregnancy or baby loss, offering formal recognition of the smallest lives.”