Baby Loss Awareness Week

The week commencing October 9 is Baby Loss Awareness Week #BLAW2024, which is a dedicated time for people to come together to remember all of the much-loved and missed babies who were lost during pregnancy, at birth, or shortly after.

This week aims to raise awareness of key issues that affect people who have lost a baby. This year’s theme is ‘Together, we care’ and is centred on the message that self-care is the most important way to show we care and that it is essential if we are going to be able to raise awareness and speak out about pregnancy and baby loss. Self-care might consist of small daily acts but it also is about seeking support from others. This article explains how we can support those affected.

What do we mean when we say ‘baby loss’?

Baby loss is where a baby dies early on in their development; this includes stillbirths, miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies and neonatal deaths.

A baby is technically stillborn if it is born dead after 24 completed weeks of pregnancy, and happens in around 1 in every 250 births in England. Some stillbirths are linked to complications with the placenta which can result in fetal growth restriction (for example, the placenta can separate from the womb before the baby is born - placental abruption - and is therefore not work as it should) or could occur as the result of a birth defect, an infection or complication with the mother's health. It is sadly not always possible to find a reason why a baby was stillborn. This can be particularly difficult to cope with when you are grieving the loss of your baby and want to understand what happened and why your baby died.

An ectopic pregnancy is when a fertilised egg implants itself outside of the womb, usually in one of the fallopian tubes (the tubes that connect the ovaries to the womb). These can be caused by pelvic inflammatory disease, previous surgeries, fertility treatment and smoking. According to NHS.uk, in the UK, around 1 in every 90 pregnancies is ectopic. This is around 11,000 pregnancies a year.

A miscarriage is the sudden loss of a pregnancy during the first 23 weeks; about 1 in 8 pregnancies will end in miscarriage. Causes of a miscarriage vary, but it is thought that most miscarriages are caused by abnormal chromosomes in the baby.

Neonatal death is defined as the death of a live born infant, regardless of gestational age at birth, within the first 28 completed days of life. Causes of such can include premature birth, complications during or after birth, infections and congenital anomalies.

What affect does losing a baby have?

The most common effect on those who have lost a baby is grief. Grief can be associated with shock and disbelief, physical pain, feelings of loss, anger, sadness, guilt and increased levels of distress, anxiety and depression. Some people may experience eating disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder. Baby loss affects more than just the parents of the baby, and quite often friends and family of the parents will experience these feelings also. It can also create worry around future pregnancies.

How can we support you?

At Thompson, Smith and Puxon, our team of clinical negligence solicitors have the care and compassion to listen and give bespoke advice to each individual experiencing the loss of a baby.

Not all baby losses are the result of clinical negligence, but our expert team has the knowledge and competence to proficiently handle medical negligence cases involving baby loss. As maternity care across the country continues to require significant improvement (only recently a report was published by the Care Quality Commission that calls for action to avoid poor care and preventable harm being normalised), we understand that parents are often concerned about the care they and their babies have received and are often left with questions about why their baby has died. We are passionate about helping people obtain those answers and helping individuals to seek justice if it is found that there has been negligence.

Whilst we cannot make guarantees, we also hope that in pursuing claims for clinical negligence lessons can be learned, processes can be improved and patients can be protected.

The following are some examples of pregnancy and baby loss as a result of negligence:-

• The failure to suspect, investigate and diagnose ectopic pregnancy;
• The failure to monitor fetal growth;
• The failure to detect fetal growth restriction;
• Inadequate management and investigations for reduced fetal movements;
• Failures in fetal monitoring during labour;
• Failures to admit to hospital in labour;
• Failures in the management of labour; and
• Failures in neonatal care.

We work on a no win, no fee basis meaning that there is no risk of loss in making a claim. Our medical negligence experts will take some details and discuss the next steps with you, giving a clear and honest opinion on your chances of a successful claim.

If you or someone you care about would like some advice, please call our experts today on 01206 574431 or email enquiries@tsplegal.com.