More care is needed for parents who have just lost a child by stillbirth or shortly after birth and many maternity units are lacking bereavement support specialists, according to a new survey.

The survey conducted by stillbirth charity ‘Sands’ discovered that more than half of maternity units have no dedicated room on a labour ward for mothers who have just lost a baby and lack a midwife trained in bereavement support.

Every day in the UK, seventeen babies are stillborn or die shortly after birth and the Department of Health want to see high quality services with the right facilities for maternity units.

The Sands’ survey only received responses from just under 80 units – a quarter of the total contacted leading the charity to suggest that bereavement care was a low priority for many hospitals.

Just over half of those who did respond did not have a midwife trained in bereavement care however the charity did note that care had improved in recent years even though it was patchy and under-resourced.

Currently there is no national standards in bereavement care for parents who have lost a baby and many women who have experienced a miscarriage are treated on unsuitable general wards or in A&E departments.

Public Health Minister Anne Milton told BBC News:

“While Sands has found that care provided to bereaved parents has improved over the last 20 years, there is still more to do.

“We want to see high quality maternity services everywhere with the right facilities, networks and trained staff to support parents and families when a baby dies.”

Gail Johnson of the Royal College of Midwives told the BBC:

“The rates of stillbirth in the UK may mean midwives can have limited experience in caring for bereaved families.

“This is why it is so important that services are developed and commissioned to meet the needs of parents who experience stillbirth or neonatal loss.

“Also, relatively simple changes to the delivery of care can make a significant difference to parents.

“Providing choice as to where the birth and postnatal care takes place and ensuring that there is written information to back up what is said to parents can help.”

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