General debate on baby loss awareness week

The subject for this debate has been chosen by the Backbench BusinessCommittee and it will be opened by Andy MacNae MP, Michelle Welsh MP, Sir Jeremy Hunt MP.Proposing the subject of baby loss, Michelle Welsh said the debate would allow “discussion on a cross-party basis and to put over why improvement in maternity services is so vital for every single community and constituency.”   

Baby Loss

The term baby loss can describe different types of bereavement including miscarriage (when a baby dies before 24 weeks of pregnancy), ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, stillbirth (the death of a baby at or after 24 weeks), neonatal and infant death, and termination of pregnancy.

The following briefings from the House of Commons Library and the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) may provide useful information in preparation for the debate on baby loss:

Registration of stillbirth and baby loss certificates (October 2026)

Maternity services in England (August 2026)

Quality and safety of maternity care (England) (February 2025)

Maternal, newborn and infant health: priorities for improved outcomes (July 2025)

Preventable baby deaths (September 2024)

Infant mortality and health inequalities (November 2023)

Baby loss awareness week

Baby Loss Awareness week has been held annually in the UK since October 2002. It is a time for those affected by baby loss to remember and commemorate their babies’ lives and to raise awareness of this issue. This year it runs between 9 and 15 October. Baby Loss Awareness week is coordinated and supported by over 100 charities including the stillbirth and neonatal death charity, Sands, Miscarriage UK and Antenatal Results and Choices (ARC).