Care for women who have suffered a miscarriage is still lacking in England, a new survey has found.
A survey led by the charity Tommy’s found that 84% of women who had miscarried felt there was a big online community but not a big enough professional support system.
Jane Scott, bereavement midwife for the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust said: ‘There is an opportunity to raise the standards in maternity bereavement care so that by listening to parents, all families receive high quality care at this difficult time.’
In the UK, a miscarriage before the end of the 24thweek of pregnancy does not currently qualify for bereavement leave. However, a stillborn child after this date does entitles the mother to maternity leave and associated pay.
According to Tommy’s, 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage and most miscarriages happen in the first trimester. Additionally, 15 babies die before, during or soon after birth every day in the UK.
This comes ahead of New Zealand’s newly considered paid miscarriage leave for women and their partners. The bill, which will legislate three days paid bereavement leave, is proposed to cover any stage of the pregnancy and will also cover stillbirths.