Written question WQ95510
- Asked by
- Rhys ab OwenIndependent
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 6 days
Question
Will the Welsh Government commit to implementing a pregnancy-loss memory certificate scheme to support grieving parents and their families, as is already the case in England?
Answer
Answered by Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Baby loss at any stage of pregnancy is distressing and I recognise the impact it can have on the entire family. The Welsh Government is committed to ensuring every family is appropriately and compassionately supported and understands the importance for parents to have their pregnancy loss formally recognised.
On 22 February 2024, the UK Government launched a voluntary scheme to allow parents whose baby died before 24 weeks of pregnancy to apply for a free certificate to provide recognition of their loss. This is currently available to any parent who has experienced a loss before 24 weeks in England since 01 September 2018. My officials are working closely with their UK Government counterparts on extending the scheme to Wales and currently awaiting final proposals from the Department of Health and Social Care.
Currently, all families who experience pregnancy loss at maternity units in Wales are supported by bereavement midwives, and in conjunction with the Sands charity are offered memory boxes which include a commemorative “birth certificate”. We are also collaborating with parent organisations including Sands and experts in this area to implement the National Bereavement Care Pathways across Wales specifically for miscarriage, stillbirth and pregnancy loss.