Thank you for contacting me about baby loss.
Firstly, my thoughts are with those who have experienced the deeply tragic instance of losing a child. Those who have not personally experienced it will know of a relative, a friend, a work colleague, or an acquaintance who has experienced baby loss before 24 weeks gestation.
That is why we have taken concerted action, so that bereaved families get the support they need. In 2023-24, NHS England invested £5.9 million to support the delivery of daily bereavement care services for women and families who suffer pregnancy or baby loss and is growing the number of staff trained in bereavement care.
We are looking to improve access to and the quality of perinatal mental health care for mothers and their partners. There are now 35 Maternal Mental Health Services across England which provide psychological therapy for women experiencing mental health difficulties related to their maternity experience including resulting from loss. As of March 2024, services are implemented in every area of the country.
In February 2024, we launched the Baby Loss Certificate service, fulfilling our commitment in the Women’s Health Strategy. We recognise that some people will wish to obtain a certificate for a baby loss that happened in the past. It is currently open to pregnancy losses since 1 September 2018, and we will extend this to earlier losses as soon as we can.
The Government is also continuing to implement recommendations from the Pregnancy Loss Review published in July 2023. These focus on improving the care and support that women and families receive when experiencing a pre-24-week gestation baby loss.