Baby-loss certificates offered to more bereaved parents

If a baby is born dead after 24 weeks, the death is officially registered as a stillbirth.

There are no official records of deaths before that stage.

But every year, in the UK, an estimated 250,000 pregnancies end through miscarriage – a death before 24 weeks – making it the most common complication of pregnancy, experienced by about one in five women.

And one of the recommendations of a recent independent review, external of NHS care and support for parents losing babies before 24 weeks was to offer a baby-loss certificate from the government, whether their loss was recent or historical.

Miscarriage Association chief executive Vicki Robinson said: “We know from the people that we support how much the certification scheme has helped those who have experienced pregnancy loss, so this is great news that people whose losses were previously not acknowledged now can be.”