The British government has launched new baby loss certificates that enable parents who lose a child before 24 weeks of pregnancy to formally acknowledge their loss. Emma Barnett, a presenter on BBC Radio 4’s Women’s Hour, recently shared her own experience of losing a baby through miscarriage and her decision to apply for one of these certificates. The certificates, which can be obtained via a government website, are free and do not require access to medical records. Users simply need to provide details of their loss, including the date and location it occurred. Barnett described the process as a ‘powerful’ way of documenting what happened.
Barnett applied for her certificate shortly after talking to Zoe Clark-Coates, founder of the baby loss charity Mariposa Trust, about the initiative. Barnett said the interview prompted her to explore the possibility of obtaining a certificate herself. She filled in the online application with her husband’s permission, whilst acknowledging that the process was emotional. In her case, she had to ‘scroll back through old messages’ to determine the exact month and year that she lost her baby. The process, she said, provided ‘proof’ that ‘something so major in our family’s life’ was not erased or forgotten.
The UK government introduced the certificates in February 2022 as part of its Pregnancy Loss Review. The certificates have generated significant interest, with high demand reportedly straining the system. Currently, families who suffered losses from September 2018 onwards can apply for the certificates. From February 2024, the option will become available to all affected families. England is the only part of the UK where the certificates are currently available, though the Welsh and Northern Irish governments are reportedly working towards similar initiatives.
Some campaigners suggest that the certificates could improve the way society views baby loss. At present, many families bear their grief in private and the loss of an unborn babymay not be formally recognised. This problem may disproportionately affect women who are members of minority communities or who have a low socio-economic status. “Women and our stories are missing from many historical records because for so long we simply weren’t deemed worthy of properly recording,” Barnett said. “There are huge holes in people’s family trees because women were simply not properly documented.”
The UK government has said that the certificates are optional and are not legally binding documents. Nevertheless, Barnett said that hers has become an important part of her family’s history. “I do like knowing that it’s there, recorded, like the very real and harrowing experience it was,” she said. “It happened.” The certificates are part of a broader drive to improve medical services for women who have experienced pregnancy loss and stillbirth. A government review in 2019 revealed that many families felt that the way such losses were handled by health professionals was inadequate
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