A SOLICITOR who has waged a tireless campaign to change the law to help support parents who experience miscarriage has issued a new appeal for help.
This Friday (December 2) MPs will preside over the second reading of the Miscarriage Leave Bill which would improve rights to maternity or paternity leave and pay for those who lose a child under 24 weeks gestation.
The campaign for the bill is being spearheaded by Keeley Lengthorn who has tragically lost three babies in the space of three years.
Urging MPs to support the bill, Keeley, a partner at Taylor Rose MW, said: “After the loss of my babies, I spoke to hundreds of mothers across the UK in the same position – who were feeling emotionally and physically incapable of returning to work immediately.
“I was fortunate enough that my employer, Taylor Rose MW, had introduced a baby loss policy earlier this year for pregnant women under 24 weeks, but thousands of working mothers across the country are still not offered this option by their employers. This bill will be an important step towards changing that and will help tens of thousands of bereaved parents when they need support the most.”
The Bill was first put forward by the MP Angela Crawley and had its first reading in the House of Commons on July 6. It will have its second reading this Friday.
Ms Crawley said: “At present, there is no legal right to paid leave for parents grieving the loss of a pregnancy before 24 weeks. It is simply not good enough. Keeley’s story makes it clear how important miscarriage leave is in dealing with such a devastating circumstance of physical and emotional loss. This policy will ensure all firms are required to adopt a policy that helps individuals and families to cope with one of the most difficult experiences that they will go through in their life.”
In a further boost, the bill has now also won the backing of Sir Bob Neil, the Tory MP for Bromley and Chislehurst.
Mr Neill, who is Keeley’s local MP, expressed his support in a letter saying: “There is a lot more we can do to encourage workplaces to be as supportive and compassionate as possible to those who have experienced the trauma of baby loss.”
As well as appearing in national newspapers and on TV to campaign for new laws, Keeley has been working tirelessly alongside a number of charities to raise awareness. In September she took part in a panel event with the charity Tommy’s, to talk about her experiences. Keeley also helped raise £10,000 for Simba, who campaign to honour children who have died, been still born or miscarried. In an event in Edinburgh in August Keeley saw how the money raised will go towards providing hundreds of memory boxes to parents who have lost a child.
Around 1 in 4 in the UK lose a baby during pregnancy or birth. The persisting stigma around baby loss in our society can leave those impacted feeling isolated in their grief and unable to access the support they need, especially in the workplace.
Keeley added: “Miscarriage is not an illness and should not be allocated sick leave. Firms should implement a pregnancy loss policy as part of their parental leave policy, as a commitment to support all employees through the bereavement and grief of a pregnancy loss and make reasonable adjustments where necessary. It is only three days, and this workplace policy would be significant in supporting families across the profession in dealing with a huge physical and emotional loss. This may help broaden the general conversation about women’s health in the workplace. Having a formal policy sends a clear message that there’s support available throughout the pregnancy process. That’s why I urge MPs: “Please support this bill.”
What can you do to help? People can write to their local MP’s here https://www.writetothem.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9trVweLJ-wIVkrrtCh1gkQl1EAAYASAAEgLAEvD_BwE and can support the bill by adding their signature to the petition here:- https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/623254
