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Why don’t we talk about pregnancy loss? Call to action from the PLRG during Baby Loss Awareness Week

12 Oct 2023

This , the Pregnancy Loss Research Group has launched a ‘Call to Action’ to increase awareness and action around pregnancy loss. Titled ‘Why don’t we talk about pregnancy loss?’, the document outlines key statistics around the incidence of pregnancy loss in Ireland.

It also highlights the evidence to support the lack of public awareness and discussion of pregnancy loss, poor care experiences, the need for staff education and training, the fear of litigation, and the need for enhanced staff supports. It calls for:

• Routine recording and reporting data on miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy and molar pregnancy
• Updated definition of perinatal mortality
• Development and implementation of a national care bundle for stillbirths
• Implementation of a confidential inquiry
• Integration of pregnancy loss into national strategies, polices, reports and action plans.

Speaking about ‘Why don’t we talk about pregnancy loss?’, said:

Perhaps the biggest issue for clinicians like me to provide a consistently high-quality bereavement service and to implement improvements in care nationally, is awareness at the highest levels of our health services and in our society about pregnancy loss and how important bereavement care really is. Because we do not talk about pregnancy loss. Progress in reduction of perinatal mortality has slowed over the last decade in Ireland, and we lag behind other high-income countries in prevention strategies and public health education. There has been much talk in the current Government about a “revolution” in with a stated objective to improve health outcomes for women in Ireland. Sadly, this has not (yet) extended to directing the Health Service Executive to provide new or improved services, for pregnancy loss and perinatal death. We need to end the silence, stigma, inaction and inequality around pregnancy loss in Ireland.

The Group also launched a series of showcase examples of good practice in ‘Spaces and Places’ for bereavement care, as well as key learning points and opportunities for further improvements. Findings from the RE:CURRENT project and highlight the importance of apporpriate and dedicated spaces in hospitals for people who experience pregnancy loss. This work undertaken as part of the RE:CURRENT project, in collaboration with the National Women and Infants Health Programme, aims to provide useful resources for people who wish to improve physical environments or spaces within maternity services, to better provide for and support people who experience pregnancy loss – an important feature of the National Standards for Bereavement Care following Pregnancy Loss and Perinatal Death.

Throughout the week, members of the Pregnancy Loss Research Group are taking part in a range of other events/activities, including an information stand in the foyer of , and the annual CUMH Service of Remembrance which takes place on Sunday 15 October at 6pm in the Sacred Heart Church, Western Road, Cork.

runs from 09 to 15 October, when it culmintes with a global at 7pm. Now in its 21^st year, it provides an opportunity to raise awareness of the impact of pregnancy and baby loss; the importance that bereavement support plays in the ongoing bereavement journey; and of the vital work that is needed to improve pregnancy outcomes.