Baby Loss and Safe Staffing in Maternity Care

Thanked her friend for work on bereavement care, highlighted discrepancies in support given by different hospitals after baby loss, and asked the Minister to press for national guidelines holding NHS accountable. Asks if an AI programme for assessing pregnancy safety could be rolled out nationwide, highlighting that current assessment methods have not changed since the 1960s.

I focused on the professionals who experience pregnancy loss and return to work soon after. It must be especially devastating for healthcare professionals working in maternity care to support other parents while dealing with their own trauma. I have pushed repeatedly in the House for a basic minimum of three paid days leave for any individual experiencing pregnancy loss, but there is no statutory provision before 24 weeks.

Pays tribute to those who share their experiences of baby loss, highlights the racial disparities in maternal health outcomes as reported by Five X More, calls for a target to address these disparities. Emphasises the need for safe staffing levels and decent pay conditions for midwives. Asked for detailed answers to the points raised during the debate from civil servants and emphasised the need for nationwide consistency in data collation and approach across the NHS.

Paid tribute to the hon. Lady for framing the debate and suggested amending the shortage occupation list to attract more people into neonatal roles due to workforce shortages coming down the line.

Acknowledged the importance of consistent standards in maternity care and expressed support for reopening the temporarily closed maternity unit in Macclesfield by April next year. He thanked all contributors and highlighted the debate's role in raising awareness about important issues.

Expressed concern about the avoidable harm and inequalities in maternity units, citing statistics such as nearly 2,000 reported cases at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and half of maternity units failing safety standards. She also highlighted workforce issues with a shortage of over 2,000 midwives in England.

The MP thanked Jill Mortimer for bringing forward the debate and expressed his personal experience of losing children. He stressed the importance of consistency in the NHS's approach to dealing with baby loss across all trusts, highlighting issues related to the classification of neonatal deaths versus stillbirths.

Joined the All-Party Parliamentary Groups on baby loss and maternity after being elected, highlighting issues in Shropshire where avoidable baby loss is extremely raw. Stresses the need for a robust and funded workforce plan as recommended by Donna Ockenden's report.

Questions whether the principle of equality of service should apply to all nations of the United Kingdom. The MP discussed the challenges faced by pregnant mothers in his constituency due to the downgrade of maternity services. He highlighted issues such as long-distance travel for birth, safety concerns during winter weather conditions, and recent cases where babies suffered brain damage due to delayed medical attention.

Jim Shannon highlighted the high rates of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy and stillbirth. He expressed concern over insufficient investment for maternity staffing and training in Northern Ireland, noting similar issues to those faced on mainland UK. He urged for more midwives, specialist bereavement care and consistent financial commitments from both regional and Westminster governments.

Thanked the hon. Lady for sharing her personal story and highlighted Alex Walmsley's work in founding Sands United West Yorkshire, a football team providing peer support to men affected by baby loss. Emphasised the importance of maintaining local maternity units such as the Brontë birth centre.

Hospital staff feel that post-natal care has suffered the most from cuts, with aftercare being devolved to healthcare workers of a lower qualification level than midwives. This will impact the health of mothers and babies.

The MP intervened to highlight the loss of 500 midwives in NHS England over the last year and called for urgent action from the Government to address the staffing shortage crisis.

Midwives in Sheffield Hallam are facing significant challenges, including shortages and high stress levels. Two-thirds of midwives surveyed reported being unsatisfied with the care they can provide due to these conditions. She advocates for a proper workforce plan, fair pay, better working conditions, and increased training opportunities.

Patricia Gibson discussed the impact of stillbirth on families, particularly focusing on pre-eclampsia which is associated with significant long-term health risks for women. She questioned why there was no monitoring of these risks after discharge from hospital. Gibson also highlighted systematic failures in maternity care leading to avoidable stillbirths and called for independent reviews to ensure accountability.

Mr Burgon shared the experience of his constituents, Hayley Storrs and Reece Watson, who lost their baby Ollie due to a placenta abruption. He highlighted the lack of bereavement support and staff shortages at Calderdale Hospital which contributed to this tragic loss. Mr Burgon emphasised the importance of sharing personal experiences across parties to address issues in maternity care.

Expressed concern about an incident at Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital and stated that every angle is being pursued vigorously to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

Every year, stillbirths, neonatal deaths and miscarriages devastate about 3,500 parents in the UK. In the west midlands, the rate is 5.3 deaths per 1,000 live births for white communities, increasing to 6.4 deaths for black, Asian and minority ethnic groups. The speaker highlighted the need for a national pathway for bereavement support and advocated for more funding for charities like Lily Mae Foundation, which has supported over 1,000 parents and distributed over 4,000 memory boxes.

I paid tribute to my hon. Friends the Members for Hartlepool and for Hexham for their personal testimonies on baby loss. Despite recent negative news, maternity services in the UK are still safe with an infant mortality rate at a historic low but 19th out of 28 European countries. There are 13 stillbirths daily and my Act from February 2019 should have enabled coroners to investigate stillbirths by amending the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, which has not yet happened.