Each year in the UK, thousands of parents and families go through the devastating experience of losing a child. On average, each day fifteen babies will sadly die either before, during, or shortly after birth.
Yet, there remains a taboo surrounding baby loss which can leave bereaved parents feeling isolated and unable to talk about it. Every one of us has a responsibility to break that taboo, so that we can move to a place where the country as a whole is willing and able to talk openly about baby loss.
Of course, none of us can erase the devastation and grief that is the inevitable result of these individual tragedies. However, it is clear that high quality care and support can make this painful experience feel more manageable. This is where the National Bereavement Care Pathway comes in.
SANDS (a bereavement charity, which is marking its 40th anniversary this year) is leading this project, in collaboration with other charities and with the support of the Department of Health and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Baby Loss. It provides a practical framework for healthcare and other professionals involved, and is designed to improve the quality of bereavement care experienced at all stages of pregnancy and baby loss up to 12 months.
Crucially, the Pathway has been informed and led by the views of bereaved parents at every single stage of its development. Parents have stressed the importance of sensitive and consistent care, of making informed choices, of privacy, of not having to repeat their stories to multiple members of staff and of having opportunities to create memories and spend time with their babies.
There is overwhelming political, parental and professional support for the Pathway project. The Department of Health provided £50,000 to help to launch it last year, and pilot projects have taken place in a number of Trusts, including University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust.
Earlier this year, the Government pledged a further £106,000 to support the roll-out of the pathway in 2018-19. This financial pledge comes following recognition of the great strides forward that the Pathway project is already making and means that all partners working on the project can continue to deliver on their ambition to embed it across all NHS England Trusts by 2020, in line with government commitments on improved patient safety, maternity services and bereavement care.
October 2018 marked the full roll-out of the Pathway, with all documents, tools and resources being made publicly available for the first time. This coincided with Baby Loss Awareness Week, which is now in its sixteenth year.
By working together to raise awareness of baby loss and support those families and staff who are dealing with it, we can all help to ensure that, in those sad cases where baby loss cannot be prevented, health professionals up and down the country will be ready and able to provide world class bereavement care.
Sands National Helpline
You can call 0808 164 3332 (Freephone) or email helpline@sands.org.uk
The experienced helpline team will be available to provide emotional support and information, including at times over the festive period.
You can find out more about support over the festive period at: https://www.sands.org.uk/support-you/bereavement-support/coping-christmas