SUFFERING THE IGNORANCE AND SMILE
The UK is one of the safest places in the world to give birth. However, I know that the Government recognises that there is still more to be done. The Department of Health and Social Care has set out a range of measures to deliver its ambition to halve the rates of stillbirths, neonatal deaths and brain injuries that occur during or soon after labour, and maternal deaths.
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Some of the APPGC report are listed below:​​​​​
Time for CHANGE HOW GEORGE'S STORY WAS READ IN THE HOUSE
OUR WORLD
As a family, we coped with the everyday issues and the officialdom surrounding child loss. We didn’t find it an easy path or even a clear one, we just seemed to get on with it. One of the things we did come across was that SIDS and other childhood loss was a taboo, an unspoken epidemic that allow the problem to be brushed under the rug.
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As for us, we never got a why, we only had SIDS. I never will know if being told he passed away from something is any worse than the hell of not knowing, that he passed away with no reason, no warning and no factors, he just forgot to breathe. I blame myself and had a million questions which will never be answered.
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We slowly got on with our lives, always wishing for more. We began meeting people, who shared in our very personal quest for answers and it was this quest that lead us in the direction of trying to help others and make small change to ease suffering.
THE ALL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP
On the 12 October 2016, we received a call from Antoinette Sandbach's office, asking if we would allow George’s story to be read out in a debate on baby loss in the House of Commands the following day. At first we questioned ourselves, if we where ready as his life was so personal and we had so many of our feelings laying bear for the world to see. We soon came to the conclusion that it was a perfect platform and were delighted to allow his story to be told, and hoped in some way his short life would leave others with hope.
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Antoinette delivered an emotional and heartfelt debate, her speech about losing our darling baby boy, George. Which can be viewed here
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The government has subsequently pledged their support to reduce the numbers of babies lost each year and to tackle the issues surrounding baby loss including improved maternity care and bereavement support for those families who have suffered the loss of a child.
The event also saw the launch of ‘Beyond Awareness to Action: Tackling baby loss in the UK’. which sets out the APPG goals for preventing and reducing baby loss, as well as improving the quality of bereavement care and support offered to parents.
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Since the APPG on child loss debate, there have been a number of changes:
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Since 2010, the stillbirth rate has reduced 19.3 per cent, the neonatal mortality rate for babies born over the 24-week gestational age of viability has reduced by 36 per cent, and the proportion of babies born preterm has reduced from 8 per cent in 2017 to 7.7 per cent in 2021. Where progress to reduce adverse outcomes has been slower, the Government has introduced several targeted interventions, such as the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle and the Brain Injury Reduction Programme.
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Since 2016, the Government has provided more than £250,000 to stillbirth and neonatal death charity, to work with other baby loss charities and royal colleges to produce and support the rollout of a National Bereavement Care Pathway to reduce the variation in the quality of bereavement care provided by the NHS.
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