Baby Loss and Safe Staffing in Maternity Care

The term baby loss can describe different types of bereavement including miscarriage (when a baby dies before 24 weeks of pregnancy), ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, stillbirth (the death of a baby at or after 24 weeks), neonatal and infant death, and termination of pregnancy. Further information is provided on the NHS website, and from a number of organisations offering information and support, including The Lullaby Trust, Bliss, the Miscarriage Association, Tommy’s and Sands, the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death charity.

On 13 October 2022 the All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) on Baby Loss and Maternity published a joint report, ‘Safe staffing: The impact of staffing shortages in maternity and neonatal care’ (PDF), which called on the Government to take action to improve maternity staffing.

The debate also marks Baby Loss Awareness week, which ran between 9 and 15 October 2022. Baby Loss Awareness week is coordinated and supported by over 100 charities.