The British Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, wants women who have experienced a late miscarriage to be able to register and certify their babies on official records.
Currently, babies who are declared stillborn after the 24th week of pregnancy can be registered in the UK. However, there is no formal process if the miscarriage occurs earlier. Some hospitals agree to issue perinatal death certificates but that does not have the same impact as recognition by the State, particularly when babies are sometimes born just a few days outside the 24-week threshold.
This has caused Hayley a great deal of pain. She lost two babies before 24 weeks – two babies who do not exist in the eyes of the State “despite the fact that she carried them for two-thirds of a full-term pregnancy”. Another woman, Ursula, who lost her son, Tobias, last March in the 20th week of pregnancy, recounts how the tone adopted by staff was “cold and clinical” and she had the impression that Tobias was a “by-product” rather than a baby.
“We believe we still have a lot more to do to guarantee care and support for families during this extremely distressful period,” explains the minister. According to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), approximately one in six pregnancies ends in miscarriage.
Daily Mail (02/02/2018)
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