Grief and Baby Loss

Grief affects us all and can have a profound impact on how one sees oneself and the world. Yet grief remains taboo. In a recent survey, half of respondents reported being scared of "saying the wrong thing" to a bereaved person (Sue Ryder, 2019). One in two said they didn’t know what support to offer; one in four would avoid talking to somebody about bereavement. These problems are compounded when a bereavement is linked to a traumatic experience, such as baby loss, which is more common than many people realise: in 2018 in England and Wales, around 1 baby in every 150 was stillborn (died after 24 weeks of pregnancy) or before they were 4 weeks old, leaving more than 4,500 families bereaved and devastated (Office of National Statistics 2019). Rather than risking an inappropriate or unwelcome comment, people often choose to say nothing to those who lose a baby through illness, stillbirth or miscarriage. This silence can intensify feelings of loneliness and isolation and make people who have lost a baby feel stigmatized. This project will open up interdisciplinary conversations about baby loss, forming the foundations for research that increases public understanding about the challenges faced by bereaved parents and helps to ensure they are well supported.