A petition signed by more than 1,400 people has been handed to the Welsh Government by Sands campaigners, calling for targets to reduce baby deaths and improve care for bereaved families.

Bereaved parents from the Sands Wales Campaign Group met with Deputy Minister for Social Care, Mental Health and Women’s Health, Delyth Jewell MS on 28 September.

The families shared their experiences of pregnancy and baby loss and called for meaningful action to improve maternity safety and bereavement care.

This government is adamant that it’s the government of change, the government of Wales and that’s why these targets are so important. Because they need to show they are different from the previous government, they need to show that they want this change to happen and they need to do something different.

- Ruth Mason, Sands Campaigner. 

Following the meeting, parents handed in the petition asking the Welsh Government to commit to:

• introducing a target to reduce the number of babies who die.  
• ensuring families receive the care and support they deserve following pregnancy and baby loss.

The meeting marked another important step in the campaign, which brings together bereaved parents from across Wales to urge politicians to make lasting improvements to maternity, neonatal and bereavement care.

Why targets are needed in Wales

Wales continues to have a higher stillbirth rate than the rest of the UK, with little progress in reducing the number of babies who are stillborn since 2018. 

There has also been limited sustained progress in reducing neonatal deaths.  

Despite this, the Welsh Government has still not introduced targets to reduce stillbirth and neonatal deaths.

Targets to reduce baby deaths in Wales matters because Welsh babies deserve the same focus, accountability and commitment to improvement as babies elsewhere in the UK. With a devolved NHS, Wales must not be forgotten, and babies born here should not have different outcomes simply because of where they live.

- Jaz Roberts, Sands Campaigner and bereaved mum to Wyatt

 Sands campaigners calling for action

Sands is supporting families in calling on the Welsh government to introduce clear, evidence based and measurable targets to save babies’ lives, alongside action to address inequalities in outcomes linked to ethnicity or deprivation.

Bereaved parents have made it very clear - national targets would show a commitment to saving babies’ lives, help track progress, and make it easier to spot and tackle inequalities. - It’s essential that the Welsh Government act on this and start taking steps to bring down the unacceptably high rates of baby deaths in Wales.

- Jessica Reeves, Head of Public Affairs and Campaigns

Three bereaved families shared their experiences with BBC Wales, helping to raise awareness of pregnancy and baby loss in Wales.  

Georgia Stevenson, Head of the Sands and Tommy’s Joint Policy Unit, also provided a professional policy perspective to the BBC, highlighting the need for evidence-led action to improve maternity safety and save babies’ lives.  

These experiences are at the heart of this campaign. Behind every statistic is a family whose lives have changed forever.

From a personal perspective, as a Sands befriender, I am seeing so many families coming to us that are devastated not only by their loss, but they are also so angry and confused because of the way they have been failed in the maternity system as well.

- Ruth Mason, Sands Campaigner

Wales campaign is making a difference

The Wales campaign has made substantial progress in getting these issues onto the political agenda. However, parent campaigners are clear that raising awareness and holding meetings are only the beginning. Families need firm commitments from the Welsh Government, supported by clear plans, measurable outcomes and accountability for delivering improvements.

We are not asking for perfect targets, nor suggesting that targets alone are the solution. We are asking for a starting point, a clear commitment for improvement and for Welsh Government and Health Boards to step into meaningful accountability. Evidence has shown that targets can help drive change and reduce preventable baby deaths. Every baby's life has equal value, and every preventable death should be treated as one too many.

- Jaz Roberts, Sands Campaigner and bereaved mum to Wyatt

How you can help make a difference

Anyone who lives in Wales can use our email template to write to their MS calling for the Government to commit to targets to reduce baby deaths.

For everyone else, who don't live in Wales, please support Sands’ wider campaigning work by signing up to join our community of campaigners.