Baby Loss Awareness Week 2025

Every day in the UK, 13 babies die before or shortly after birth. How it is handled and what can be learnt can have a significant impact on how families respond to grief.

Listening to Prevent Further Tragedy

To mark Baby Loss Awareness Week, we are exploring the importance of giving families a voice and the importance of listening to prevent further tragedies. Donna Ockenden FRSA has shone a spotlight on systemic failings in maternity care that have compounded the grief of bereaved families in the UK.

It is the failure to be heard that is raised as a consistent issue in the findings. Many of my clients have reported that they simply knew something was wrong, either during the antenatal care, presenting with symptoms, reduced foetal movement, or questioning the growth. For others, the issues arose during labour when symptoms were ignored, and safety concerns dismissed; mothers were made to feel paranoid and a burden.

The Ockenden investigation heard from over 2000 families to uncover deep-rooted issues in maternity care. Complaints range from delayed or inadequate care, how cases were handled and lack of transparency and accountability. Families were not always involved in the investigation and questions were left unanswered, with allegations of cover-up eroding trust and a toxic culture preventing real concerns from being escalated. It is clear that staff also need support to raise their voices. Early warning signs should not be dismissed and instead be raised and robustly reviewed with bodies such as the CQC and NHS England.

Experiences differ between trusts, but common complaints relate to lack of communication, compassion and explanation.

Care must be shaped by those who have lived through loss.

Understanding is a key part of the grieving process and overcoming the shock. Without knowing what happened, it is difficult to move forward. It can cause guilt, self-blame and anxiety about future pregnancy, mistrust and long-term health effects, including long-term grief, depression and even psychiatric mental health effects, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Only through transparency, accountability and a genuine commitment to learning can we restore trust in maternity services and prevent avoidable tragedies. Every case should drive improvement, ensuring that the voices of parents, clinicians and investigators together shape safer care for the future.