I beg to move,
That leave be given to bring in a Bill to require new maternity units to have a bereavement suite; and for connected purposes.
For anyone experiencing the loss of a baby, that is already one of the most difficult times in their life. It is made more difficult when they experience it in a hospital maternity ward, surrounded by mothers and families celebrating new life. No number of new facilities can take the pain away, but parents whose local hospital has a dedicated bereavement suite away from the main labour ward can process that pain in privacy and peace.
I am often inspired by my constituents in Kettering, and today I am especially proud to introduce this Bill, inspired by the Twinkling Stars Appeal, which campaigned for a new maternity bereavement suite at Kettering general hospital. I pay tribute to the Northamptonshire Health Charity, which has dedicated so much time and care to this appeal, and also to Sands, which works to make sure that anyone affected by pregnancy or baby loss has the care and support that they need. I also want to recognise the work that the NHS is already doing. Day in and day out, staff at Kettering general hospital help people who are going through one of the most difficult experiences that anyone can imagine. They continue to do that despite years of underfunding and understaffing, which is a testament to our hospital staff. Finally, I want to thank all the families who have been involved in this campaign, and anyone who has donated, helped out at a fundraising event, sold masks during the pandemic to raise money, or even done a skydive.
The Rockingham wing, which is the maternity ward of Kettering general, is where I was born as a premature baby, eight weeks early. It is where my mum fought for her life after a complicated and traumatic birth, which was made even more difficult as she was surrounded by happy, healthy mothers and their babies. There are many people in Kettering whose lives, like mine, started in the Rockingham wing, so it was very alarming to hear in 2023 that it was crumbling because of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete. I am pleased to say that the RAAC is now being mitigated, and a two-storey extension will be built behind the existing maternity unit to help the team to improve the care that they deliver each year to about 3,000 families and their babies. This will be particularly important in Northamptonshire, where we have a growing population and many new families moving into the area.
On a recent visit to Kettering general, I walked the grounds of the new maternity ward. I saw plans for the new bereavement suite and, thanks to the campaign by the Northamptonshire Health Charity and the efforts of local people, I saw the place where it will be built. Before the appeal, families in Kettering who had lost a baby, either during pregnancy, during the birth itself or through compassionate induction, stayed in a room within the labour suite where mothers could be close to their babies but not next to them, and where partners walked through the maternity ward to reach them, surrounded by the sounds of new life and delighted parents, making a heartbreaking experience even harder.
Kettering general hospital cares for up to 100 families a year who lose a baby. They will now be cared for in a suite that has a private bereavement room, with en suite facilities and a cold cot for precious time with their baby. It will have a dedicated family room with a kitchenette, a sofa bed, a peaceful private space for families to gather to support each other, and a quiet office space for bereavement midwives, where sensitive conversations can be conducted with care and privacy.
At Northampton hospital, where some of these facilities were already in place, the Daisy suite appeal aims to create somewhere for follow-up care with specialist bereavement nurses that is not on the maternity ward, so that when bereaved parents who have experienced unique trauma return to the hospital, they will not have to walk back through the same maternity ward again, which could trigger painful memories. A bereavement midwife at Northampton hospital wrote to me in support of the campaign, stating:
“Coming to hospital to give birth to a baby who is known to have died or will die is unimaginable. The grief and devastation can never be fully understood as each circumstance will be different. What we can do as a hospital is try our very best not to add to these feelings and make such an awful situation even worse by not providing a supportive and understanding environment. We want them all to feel supported, heard and truly cared for.”
She explained that her team are currently based in the maternity ward, but are not easily accessible for families to drop in for support and are difficult to find for staff members who are looking for support themselves. A bereavement suite would allow them to see more families, allow parents to return after discharge and spend more precious time with their baby, and provide a separate space where families do not come face-to-face with other pregnant women and new-born babies while going through such a heartbreaking time.
These campaigns are based on real-life experiences. The changes being made to our maternity units in hospitals in Northamptonshire are the result of what families have noticed after experiencing bereavement themselves. They want to make a positive difference for future parents. I cannot even begin to express the admiration I have for parents who are taking their pain and channelling it into making things better for those who come after them. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] Some of the parents who contacted me mentioned the importance of “quiet care” when going through a time like this. They told me that every parent who is going through the worst time of their lives should have the opportunity to receive care in private.
When I spoke to the Northamptonshire Health Charity, it highlighted the importance of hearing families’ voices in this conversation and spoke about how dedicating time and experience to the campaign can have a healing impact for some of the families who have been involved. It is really important that parent consultation is right at the heart of the Bill. The Government are building an NHS fit for the future, and a big part of that is listening to service users and taking on board their feedback. I believe that this is particularly important in spaces such as bereavement suites, where changes that might feel small, such as the feel of the space or the access to the room, can make a huge difference to parents and families. In Northamptonshire, bereaved parents have met nurses and walked through the maternity ward, pointing out where changes can be made to better support parents in future.
Currently in the UK, 13 families a day lose their baby before, during or shortly after birth. That is around 4,500 babies a year, so this issue is bigger than Kettering or Northamptonshire. When I was researching bereavement suites for the Bill, I looked on the JustGiving website and found it full of appeals from every corner of the country for funding for new facilities, specialist counselling and trained midwives for bereavement services. A collaboration of charities working to support people affected by the death of a baby have developed the national bereavement care pathway to improve the quality and consistency of bereavement care received by parents after pregnancy loss or the death of a baby.
As of 2024, every NHS trust in England has signed up to the national bereavement care pathway, but we know there is still work to do. Not all hospitals are currently able to provide a properly equipped or suitable bereavement room; some are in the middle of the labour ward, and some are not sound-proofed. The Twinkling Stars suite at Kettering general hospital is a perfect example of how when we welcome contributions from families and parents with experience, we spot things we did not know we needed.
At the moment, it is families, communities and charities who are raising money so that parents can face such a difficult time with a little more privacy and comfort. Nobody can take away the pain of losing a baby, but we can ensure that in that pain, families are met with compassion, dignity and privacy, and that begins with a bereavement suite in every newly built maternity ward.
Question put and agreed to.
Ordered,
That Rosie Wrighting, Jen Craft, Dr Marie Tidball, Michelle Welsh, Mr Richard Holden, John Cooper, Lee Barron, Mike Reader and Charlie Dewhirst present the Bill.
Rosie Wrighting accordingly presented the Bill.
Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 16 May, and to be printed (Bill 226).