BABY LOSS AWARENESS WEEK 2018

That this House supports Baby Loss Awareness Week 2018 which runs from 8 to 15 October, when it culminates in Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day; acknowledges that stillbirth, miscarriage and infant loss is a tragedy which governments in Scotland and across the UK must work to prevent; is heartened by the progress made so far with the National Bereavement Care Pathway which seeks to improve the quality of bereavement care for parents and families at all stages of pregnancy and baby loss; applauds the Parental Bereavement Bill which demonstrated cross-party working at its best to secure statutory paid leave for bereaved parents; is optimistic about the possibility of Fatal Accident Inquiries in Scotland or Coroner Inquiries in England in some circumstances of stillbirth where it is deemed in the public interest; is encouraged by moves towards a voluntary registration scheme for miscarriages prior to 24 weeks gestation, which may be of comfort to bereaved parents at a very difficult time; believes that slowly the taboo around the tragedy of baby loss is slowly being broken down which has greatly assisted with progress so far on helping those who face this life-changing trauma; and is mindful that whilst much has been done to address stillbirth in Scotland and across the UK, there is still more to do and it is important to keep this issue on the political agenda.