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New national resources launched to create more compassionate workplaces for people who experience pregnancy loss
Two new resources to help create more compassionate workplaces for people who experience pregnancy loss have been launched at an event hosted by the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Fergal Dennehy, in City Hall on Thursday. The resources, developed by the Pregnancy Loss Research Group at University College Cork (UCC), include a toolkit for employers and employees, and a book that shines a light on the experiences of pregnancy loss at work.
Both resources are informed by findings from the PLACES Project which explored how to better support people in the workplace who experience the loss of a pregnancy under 24 weeks. In his opening remarks, Mr Dennehy said:
As we mark Baby Loss Awareness Week, a week focusing on bringing us together as a community, the PLACES project provides workplaces with practical resources and guidance to implement a supportive, caring environment for those who have experiences a pregnancy loss.
Professor Keelin O’Donoghue, Consultant Obstetrician at Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH) and lead of the Pregnancy Loss Research Group (PLRG) said they know from the PLACES project that there is a significant gap between the needs of individuals who experience pregnancy loss under 24 weeks gestation and the supports available to them in workplaces. She added:
This impacts on their wellbeing, their physical and emotional recovery from pregnancy loss, and their return to work. Many people return to work shortly after pregnancy loss, while still experiencing physical and/or emotional difficulties. Managing the impact of the loss, workloads, and social interactions can be particularly difficult. Many do not to disclose their pregnancy loss, take time off work or seek support due to stigma and fears of dismissal from work, or discrimination regarding career progression. There is a need for dedicated leave from work, and workplace policies and supports to better support people who experience pregnancy loss.
Dr Tommy Harty and Dr Caoimhe Ní hÉalaithe, doctors in specialist training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, currently based at CUMH, co-led the development of the PLRG Pregnancy Loss and the Workplace Toolkit for Employers and Employees, with Professor O’Donoghue and Marita Hennessy, a researcher within the group.
The toolkit provides practical guidance and templates for employers, managers and HR staff. It also provides guidance for employees on how best to navigate work after experiencing a pregnancy loss, as well as information for workers on how they can support colleagues who experience pregnancy loss. Dr Harty said:
While the toolkit focuses mainly on people who experience pregnancy loss prior to 23 weeks gestation, much of what is discussed, particularly the different ways that employees and workers can be supported beyond leave entitlements, is relevant to those experiencing pregnancy loss at any time in pregnancy. In developing and sharing this resource, we want to create more compassionate work environments and better experiences for people whose pregnancies end in loss. Our hope is that workplaces around Ireland now endorse and use this toolkit.
Tara Woulfe, a parent advocate within the PLRG, said the new resources are the result of incredible work by the group at CUMH. She said:
They have listened to the stories of women with lived experience of pregnancy loss and turned their research into a toolkit that will be of real practical help and support for both employers and employees alike. This paves the way for women to be met with compassion after their loss, and for workplaces to become places where grief is met with support, not silence.
The PLRG has also published a book titled “Words at Work”, a collection of 23 texts – all direct quotations from people with experience of pregnancy loss who participated in the PLACES project.
Marita Hennessy said the PLRG aims to lead national research to enhance people’s experiences and outcomes. She added:
By communicating the findings from the PLACES project in many and varied ways, we hope that we are both holding space for people’s experiences and working towards social and political change for more compassionate and supportive workplaces. Recognising pregnancy loss as a workplace issue is essential. Words at Work makes that clear. The toolkit will help workplaces implement policies and procedures to make that a reality.
Copies of ‘Pregnancy Loss and the Workplace: A Toolkit for Employers and Employees’ and ‘Words at Work: Experiences of pregnancy loss in the workplace {up to 23 weeks}’ are available on the PLRG website: https://www.ucc.ie/en/pregnancyloss/policyandadvocacy/workplaceresources/.
Editor’s note:
The PLACES research team surveyed almost 1,000 people and interviewed 13 people who had experienced a pregnancy loss under 24 weeks. The report also drew on a review of international literature, statutory leave provisions for pregnancy loss, and pregnancy loss policies across a sample of companies in the Republic of Ireland. Read more: https://www.ucc.ie/en/pregnancyloss/researchprojects/places/.
In July 2024, the definition of stillbirth was revised via the Civil Registration (Electronic Registration) Act 2024. Stillbirth is now defined as a baby born with no signs of life at 23 weeks gestation or later, or with a birth weight of 400g or more.
The drawing used on the cover of Words at Work was created by Lucy O’Donnell. It is one of a series she made in reflection of her own pregnancy losses. Drawing is at the centre of Lucy’s art practice, as an activity understood as a preliminary, working something through or possibilising. The circles in the drawing make reference to both cell structure and the term 'circle of life'. The forms can be read as coming together or moving a part, as an imagined internal activity that rethinks loss.
The Pregnancy Loss Research Group leads national research to better understand pregnancy loss experiences and impacts, and the development of resources and evidence-based advice and interventions, to improve health care (quality) and health and social outcomes for women, babies and their families.
This includes all types of pregnancy and infant loss, including first trimester miscarriage, second trimester miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, multiple pregnancy complications, stillbirth, termination of pregnancy, neonatal death and pregnancy after loss. The group is co-located between the INFANT Centre and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at UCC, and based at CUMH. See: www.ucc.ie/pregnancyloss.
For more information about all forms of pregnancy and baby loss, including details of support organisations, visit Pregnancy and Infant Loss Ireland: https://pregnancyandinfantloss.ie/.