Families left in ‘unimaginable’ pain by ‘distressing’ system.

Hundreds of families have been caused “unimaginable” pain because of a historic practice.

Before the 1980s, it is understood that it was common practice in Britain that when a woman had a miscarriage or stillbirth, hospital staff quickly took the baby away. Families were sometimes told that if they had a baby sooner and didn’t see him, they would get over it.

In Wirral, a campaign by Gina Jacobs and other mothers who want a government apology for the practice has raised awareness, which meant they were never allowed to see their children before they were taken from them. They also successfully campaigned for a memorial for those who were never able to find their children or relatives.

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Ms Jacobs and others are now campaigning for the families to receive an apology in recognition of the impact it has had on their families. The issue was raised in Parliament by Wirral West MP Margaret Greenwood, who asked if Prime Minister Rishi Sunak “would apologize for this past practice which has left grieving parents nowhere to visit their buried children?”

Mr. Sunak did not respond to the apology, but said Ms. Jacobs “deserves nothing but our praise and admiration, and I am so pleased that she has brought comfort to so many others.”

Since the issue was raised in Parliament, families have contacted Ms Jacobs to seek help to find their own relatives. However, some still can’t find them because searches are based on decades-old records of staff who weren’t working there at the time.

Sue Bowers has been unable to find her twin sister who is believed to have been buried in Landican Cemetery in Wirral 74 years ago. She said: “There should be an apology. It won’t make any difference because of the loss of my parents because they are dead now, but it would make a big difference to a lot of parents who felt they were wrong. I think a lot of them felt that way.”

Maria Caulfield MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Mental Health and Women’s Health Strategy, in response to a letter from Ms Greenwood, said: “I offer my deepest sympathies to Ms Jacobs and recognize that she has had to deal with the pain of not knowing what to do happened to the remains of her child for so many years.

“The pain caused to Ms. Jacobs and other grieving parents by these historic practices is unimaginable, and we have worked hard to make sure that now parents of stillborn children do not have to experience this kind of pain.”

She pointed to the 2016 regulations to ensure parents’ cremation wishes were respected, as well as a pregnancy loss assessment in 2018 and the implementation of 20 recommendations as evidence of this.

While she did not directly address calls for an apology, she said: “We have listened to individuals and families and acknowledged the suffering these historic practices have caused. That’s why we’ve implemented initiatives to significantly improve the care experience for all parents experiencing pregnancy loss.”

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