Paid leave should be available to parents who experience a pre-24-week pregnancy loss, MPs have said.
A report by the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) took an in-depth look at pregnancy loss and the effects it has, both physically and mentally.
Besides the pain and blood loss of a miscarriage, the recovery period following can be tiring and emotionally difficult. Reactions to baby loss can vary from anxiety to PTSD among affected women. For baby loss before and after 24 weeks, the report found the feelings of grief were very similar.
‘I was not prepared for the shock of miscarrying at work during my first pregnancy,’ said WEC chair and Labour MP, Sarah Owen. ‘Like many women, I legally had to take sick leave. But I was grief stricken, not sick, harbouring a deep sense of loss.’
The committee intends to table amendments to the government’s Employment Rights Bill that would bring the law in line with existing provision for baby loss after 24 weeks. Currently, parents are eligible for statutory parental bereavement leave if they had a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, or lost a child under 18 years old.
‘The committee’s report found many private sector employers, plus the NHS – the largest public sector employer of women – are successfully offering paid bereavement leave for those who miscarry, but provision is not universal,’ Sarah continued.
‘The case for a minimum standard in law is overwhelming. A period of paid leave should be available to all women and partners who experience a pre-24-week pregnancy loss.’
Image | Shutterstock
