Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has plans to increase support for bereaved parents who experience a (a) miscarriage or (b) baby loss.

The Government funded the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death charity in order to produce and support the roll-out of a National Bereavement Care Pathway, to reduce the variation in the quality of bereavement care provided by the National Health Service. As of 30 January 2024, 126 NHS England trusts, or 98%, have signed up to the pathway.

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.

On 22 February 2024, we launched Baby Loss Certificates so that parents can obtain a certificate to recognise the loss of a baby before 24 weeks. As of 4 March 2024, over 37,000 certificates have been issued. This delivers on priorities set out in the Women’s Health Strategy for England, and on recommendations from the Pregnancy Loss Review.