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MPs debate 'silent killer' of baby deaths MPs debate 'injustice' of baby deaths
(35 minutes later)
MPs are taking part in a landmark Commons debate later on stillbirths and other forms of baby loss. The "sheer scale" of child deaths in the UK is an "injustice" which must be tackled, MPs have heard.
The occasion, the first substantive debate on the issue in the Commons chamber, is being opened by Conservative MP for Eddisbury Antoinette Sandbach, who lost her five-day old son in 2009. Conservative MP Antoinette Sandbach, who lost her five-day-old son in 2009, described this as the "most devastating" event a parent can suffer.
Ms Sandbach has described baby loss as a "silent killer" that has too often been "brushed under the carpet". She and fellow Tory MP Will Quince, who has also lost a child, brought the landmark House of Commons debate on the issue.
Ministers are aiming for a 20% reduction in stillbirths by 2020. Ministers say they are aiming for a 20% reduction in stillbirths by 2020.
Each year about 3,500 babies in the UK are stillborn, defined as being born with no signs of life after 24 completed weeks of pregnancy - one in every 200 babies.Each year about 3,500 babies in the UK are stillborn, defined as being born with no signs of life after 24 completed weeks of pregnancy - one in every 200 babies.
Parents want to talk about baby loss
MPs tell of pain of losing their babies
Another 2,000 babies die within the first four weeks of their lives, during the neonatal period.Another 2,000 babies die within the first four weeks of their lives, during the neonatal period.
Ms Sandbach said the UK had one of the highest rates of baby loss in Europe and the issue "urgently needs attending". Opening the debate, Ms Sandbach, MP for Eddisbury, said: "Parliament is helping to break the silence around the death of a child, which is the most devastating event that can happen to any parent."
'Deeply personal' She said there had been a "huge response" after she and Mr Quince spoke about the subject in a separate Commons debate last year.
She said Thursday's debate, which coincides with Baby Loss Awareness Week, allowed MPs to share their own "deeply personal" experiences and those of their constituents about stillbirths, miscarriages and sudden infant death syndrome. Ms Sandbach added: "The sheer scale of child loss in the UK is an injustice and one that is suffered by so many families, year in, year out." It was "devastating" for each family affected.
The debate was, she added, an opportunity to highlight the "good practice" going on around the country and to bring that to the attention of ministers. Thursday's debate coincides with Baby Loss Awareness Week.
Will Quince, who had a stillborn son last year, said he had been taken aback at the number of colleagues who had approached him since he talked about his own loss in the Commons last November. Will Quince, who had a stillborn son last year, is also due to speak.
"In Britain, we don't like talking about death and, in particular, we don't like talking about the death of children or babies," the Tory MP for Colchester said. He has previously said that, while the government's goal of halving stillbirths by 2030 was welcome, debates such as these would keep the pressure on ministers.
He added that it was important to "show no subject is too taboo that we can't discuss it on the floor of the House of Commons".
Antenatal care
While the government's goal of halving stillbirths by 2030 was welcome, he said debates such as these would keep the pressure on ministers.
"I think we do need to be holding their feet to the fire on that."
Sands, a stillborn and neonatal death charity, says 60% of pregnancies that continue to term but end in stillbirths could be prevented by applying the minimum standards of antenatal care and guidance for mothers and babies.Sands, a stillborn and neonatal death charity, says 60% of pregnancies that continue to term but end in stillbirths could be prevented by applying the minimum standards of antenatal care and guidance for mothers and babies.
According to NHS Choices, about 10% of stillborn babies have some kind of birth defect that contributed to their death while about half of all stillbirths are linked to complications with the placenta.According to NHS Choices, about 10% of stillborn babies have some kind of birth defect that contributed to their death while about half of all stillbirths are linked to complications with the placenta.
A leading obstetrician, Prof Kypros Nicolaides, told the BBC in 2014 that offering all women Doppler scans, which measure blood flow between the placenta and foetus, could save 1,500 babies a year. A leading obstetrician, Professor Kypros Nicolaides, told the BBC in 2014 that offering all women Doppler scans, which measure blood flow between the placenta and foetus, could save 1,500 babies a year.