Next Welsh Government must commit to improving maternity safety and bereavement care for everyone touched by pregnancy and baby loss.

Bereaved parents from across Wales supported by Sands, the UK’s leading pregnancy and baby loss charity, are urging the country’s future political leaders to make saving babies’ lives central to their manifestos.

During Baby Loss Awareness Week (9–15 October), bereaved parents have launched a petition with Sands calling on the next Welsh Government to adopt bold targets, to commit to reduce baby deaths and improve bereavement care for people following pregnancy or baby loss.

Ruth Mason is one of the seven bereaved parents who are leading the petition that has launched today. Ruth’s twin boys George and Henry were stillborn together in 2018.

“Every day across Wales, there are mothers leaving hospitals without their babies. Families, like mine and many others, face the devastation of a life so different to the one they had planned. This is more likely to happen to a woman in Wales than in any other UK nation. I believe that we deserve better. 

“For far too long, our maternity care in Wales has been in crisis, with frontline staff pushed to their limits and families not listened to. We refuse to allow the wall of silence and excuses to stay upright any longer. 

“This could be you, a friend, a family member, a colleague. So many people are impacted by the devastation that pregnancy and baby loss causes, and our postcode should not determine the level and quality of care that we receive.”

- Ruth Mason

Wales lagging behind other UK nations on saving babies’ lives 

Wales continues to have a higher stillbirth rate than the rest of the UK, with limited progress in reducing neonatal deaths. In contrast, England introduced targets in 2015 to halve stillbirth and neonatal death rates by 2025. While those targets may not be fully met, they have helped maintain political focus and save babies’ lives.

If Wales had matched the best-performing countries in Europe between 2019 and 2023, more than 1,000 babies might have survived.

“In May 2026, Wales will elect the next government. The winning party will be responsible for health care in Wales for the next four years – including maternity, neonatal and bereavement care.

“Wales can and must do more to save more babies’ lives and ensure that every bereaved family receives high-quality care and support. As candidates from all parties begin their campaigns for election to the Senedd, people touched by pregnancy and baby loss in Wales need to know that their future political representatives are committed to making the changes they want to see to maternity services.”

- Sands’ Chief Executive Clea Harmer 

How People in Wales can help

Sands is calling on everyone in Wales, whether or not they have been affected by pregnancy or baby loss, to sign the petition to support bereaved families and help save babies’ lives, and share it with friends and family to make their voice heard.

Targets for Wales part of UK-wide action needed

The National Maternity Safety Ambitions for England expire in 2025 – and there are no current ambitions for any other UK nation.

The Sands and Tommy’s Joint Policy Unit (JPU) has proposed new UK-wide targets to be achieved by 2035.

Sands is now calling on the Welsh Government to commit to achieving:

• A stillbirth rate of 2.0 per 1,000 total births.
• A neonatal mortality rate of 0.5 per 1,000 live births (for babies born at 24 weeks gestation and over).
• The elimination of inequalities in outcomes based on ethnicity and deprivation.

What else needs to change in Wales

In addition to the targets for Wales, Sands and the bereaved parents backing the petition are calling for:

• A commitment from the next Welsh Government to support Health Boards in implementing a National Bereavement Care Pathway for Wales.
• Evaluation and expansion of the specialist baby loss psychological support pathway, currently available in Cardiff and Vale, to all Health Boards across Wales.

Families who experience baby loss must be able to access compassionate, high-quality bereavement care. This includes:

• Support from staff trained in bereavement care.
• Access to dedicated bereavement rooms.
• Opportunities to make memories with their baby.
• Information and referral to specialist psychological support.