Name Once Known

One in four women in the UK will suffer a miscarriage, according to the NHS. This was the unfortunate reality of 53-year-old Nina Crooks, who lost her son in 2001, 20 weeks into her pregnancy.

“My first pregnancy was easy, so miscarriage was something that I never even considered. Everything was fine one minute and the next I remember fighting to stay awake in the back of an ambulance. I thought I was going to die.”

Nina had experienced a very rare haemorrhagic miscarriage, which not only led to the loss of her baby, but a life altering disability. According to The Miscarriage Association around a quarter of women who experience a miscarriage will experience experience a long-term illness such as depression or PTSD.

As well as suffering from postnatal depression and postnatal psychosis, Nina developed several neurological disorders, due to the impact of her trauma. The shock triggered fibromyalgia and functional neurological disorder (FND), which left her housebound and relying on benefits.

Despite the severity of her illnesses, Nina was legally never entitled to paid leave from work or compensation for her permanent dismissal from her role.

“I worked in airport security" Nina explained. "I took three weeks off paid with my sick leave entitlement but that ran out. When I couldn’t return to work, I had to leave the company. It was as if they couldn’t be bothered to deal with me because I was no longer useful.”

In the UK, a baby lost before 24 weeks is considered a miscarriage and any loss after qualifies as a stillbirth. A stillbirth at 24 weeks, allows the mother to take a maximum of 52 weeks statutory paid maternity leave. If the same baby is lost at 23 weeks however, the mother is entitled to nothing.

Danae Shell is a Lawyer and the founder of ‘Valla’, the Edinburgh-based DIY platform for people who want to resolve an employment issue but cannot afford a law firm.

Many of Danae's clients are women who feel they have not been supported by the company they have been working for during their miscarriage. “This is definitely a problem that so many people are facing all of the time," Danae said. "Pregnancy and maternity is in the top three areas people come to us about."

Under the 2010 Equality Act, 'Pregnancy and Maternity' is a protected characteristic so treating a woman unfavourably due to the loss of a baby at any period, is an offence. Yet, past attendance, there is little financial aid that a company is legally required to give for any pregnancy related absences or illness before 24 weeks.

Nina explained that she felt like she fell into this bracket.

“It was like being in financial limbo," Nina said. "My company did not discriminate against me when I lost my baby, but they also didn’t have to pay me. I couldn’t go to a lawyer because they were not doing anything illegal, even though it felt like I was being robbed.”

“It’s not a fair system," Nina continued. "I want to work but I rely on government funding, ironically the same government who refused to cover my leave all those years ago.”

On the 22nd of February 2024, the government launched the baby loss certificate scheme. The voluntary scheme was created to support parents who had experienced a miscarriage, allowing families to receive a birth certificate to acknowledge the loss of a baby before 24 weeks. 

Whilst the certificate offers no promise of financial support, its creation came as a great surprise to those on the frontline of bereavement care for women.

Clare Worgan is the Head of Training and Strategic Planning at baby loss charity, Sands. After her own stillbirth of baby Alice in 2017, Clare chose to help women like herself. The charity supports thousands of women annually who have been affected by pregnancy loss.

Clare said: "We work with the NHS and policy makers around improving care. We also provide training, guidance and data to workplaces so they feel equipped and able to support women.”

Discussing miscarriage statistics is notoriously hard due to the number of women who do not report their miscarriages. Cross comparisons from Sands surveys found that the number of miscarriages recorded in 2021 had an estimated range of 40,000 women because the charity could not gather the data.

Clare explained: “We still have this culture of not telling people we are pregnant after 12 weeks and so a lot of people may not have told friends and family about it, let alone their employer.”

For Clare, the introduction of the certificates offers a tangible way to mitigate the grief women are experiencing whilst waiting for support.

“Now, women across the UK will have a free and officiated document to register their loss," said Clare. "It's a brilliant initiative: It acknowledges an event that has been dismissed as ‘one of those things’. It can be really significant for those waiting for help. It is something we will be informing our mothers of, in the future.”

When discussing miscarriage, Sands breaks down the feelings of losing a child into several categories, as loss itself is nuanced. For those who have had miscarriages, the most common feeling is not grief, but isolation. 

This initial feeling of isolation was the shared emotion of podcasters, Bex Gunn & Laura Buckingham. The pair were inspired to start their award winning podcast ‘The Worst Girl Gang Ever’ after the loneliness they experienced, having both miscarried. Bex experienced her first miscarriage in March 2020.

Bex explained: “I was so naïve for thinking that I was immune from miscarriage because I already had kids. I went for my first scan without even thinking about it."

Bex was offered little help after her loss, and in an effort to process grief, she took to social media.

Bex said: "I thought to myself I can’t be the only one struggling with this pain and complete darkness, so I decided to write about my experiences as honestly as I could. I had a piece published by the Metro which was shared to social media and it went viral.”

Bex later created a support group, which Laura joined, after experiencing her seventh miscarriage. Laura explained that prior to finding Bex, she had been stuck living in the baby loss world.

“This was also in 2020, my first son had turned one and he was eighth pregnancy. All my miscarriages had been before 12 weeks," said Laura. "It had taken over my life for quite a long period of time."

After speaking for some time online, the pair decided to create a podcast. Laura said: “We chose the name, ‘The Worst Girl Gang Ever’ because the miscarriage club is one that no one would ever choose to be a part of. Yet, we stand shoulder to shoulder, stronger together.”

In their most recent podcast, the pair were able to speak with MBE Zoe Clark-Coates, who's experiences of baby loss, fuelled the creation of the certificate.

For the podcasters, the certificates were a light at the end of a seemingly dark tunnel.

Bex chose to order one of the certificates. “I got mine a couple of weeks ago," said Bex. "I felt like the application process was kind. The first sentence of the certificate was 'We are sorry for your loss'. I felt this was such a progressive way to manage the whole concept of acknowledgement.”

Laura still has not decided whether or not she will be applying for a certificate. However, she emphasised the positive impact that the initiative had started.

“When the worst happens and it is completely disregarded by society, it's crushing," Laura said. "It leads to shame and it's all swept under the carpet. The certificates not only provide recognition but bring the stigma of miscarriage to the foreground.”

After her second miscarriage, lawyer Keeley Lengthorn drafted a baby loss policy to be implemented at her law firm, Taylor Rose LTD, entitling women to three days paid leave for baby loss before 24 weeks. 

She was inspired by New Zealand’s Parliament vote on the 25 May 2021, allowing mothers and their partners three days of bereavement leave after a miscarriage.

“I couldn’t believe it was not already a policy," Keeley said.

Keeley was pregnant for the third time when her firm, Taylor Rose LTD, finally implemented the policy. A few months later, Keeley became the first woman in her firm to use the law, after she lost baby George at 21 weeks.

After using the policy herself, Keeley saw first-hand the change that had to be made.

Keeley said: “George weighed a pound. My labour was 18 hours. I got to bath and dress him and to cuddle him. He had blonde hair and big feet. The fact I left him at the mortuary on Thursday night and went to stop my milk on Friday morning when the law says I should have been working, is completely beyond anything I can ever imagine.”

Keeley had posted online about the policies she had implemented within her firm on social media which led to hundreds of questions about her experience.

“People kept asking about what I had done, and the more people asked, the more I knew what had to be done in terms of changing the law," explained Keeley. "It was around  June 2022 I began calling all employers to implement baby loss policies within their businesses."

In June 2022, Keeley met with MP Angela Crawley to put forward George's Law. The law, if passed, would entitle all women to three paid days of miscarriage leave.

Alongside a GoFundMe which raised £30,000, the draft was taken to parliament and George's Law was mentioned in its first reading, which was successful. Postponed at its second reading due to the Queen’s death, it was heard again at the beginning of 2023.

Keeley explained: “You can give those certificates to your employer but it doesn't do anything in terms of paid time off. If we had George's Law alongside the certificates there would be BOTH holistic and practical aid in place for mothers who miscarry."

Currently, the Bill is pending review. Keeley believes there is still a long way to go, but that the progress being made is far more important than the baby loss certificates. 

"Of course the certificates are a fundamental change in terms of bereavement loss care we have had in decades and it's amazing. There have been so many women who have reached out and said that it's brilliant," Keeley said. "However, the progress we are making - it's not enough.”