Myth: But we have already implemented the Bereavement Standards

While much work is being undertaken to implement the National Standards for Bereavement Care following Pregnancy Loss and Perinatal Death (53), demonstrating the commitment of the Health Service Eexecutive’s National Women and Infants Programme to high-quality care for bereaved parents and families, other barriers remain. These include maternity hospital infrastructure, staff recruitment/retention, and competing clinical services demands.

The 2021 implementation report presented 40 recommendations as a priority for all maternity units – based on findings from sequential national audits of perinatal bereavement care services, expert opinion from multi-disciplinary healthcare professionals, learning from the experiences of bereaved parents and families and best practice (54).

Perhaps the biggest issue, though, is awareness at the highest levels of our health services and in society about pregnancy loss and how important bereavement care really is (55). Research led by the Pregnancy Loss Research Group has consistently demonstrated the lack of awareness and knowledge around the different forms of pregnancy loss – amongst the general public, students and at a political level (56,57) which is reflected in policy delivery, resource allocation and research funding in Ireland. 

References

(53) Pregnancy Loss Research Group. University College Cork. 2023. National Bereavement Standards. Available from: https://www.ucc.ie/en/pregnancyloss/impact/nationalbereavementstandards/. 

(54) O’Donoghue K, Cotter R. On the Implementation of the National Standards for Bereavement Care Following Pregnancy Loss and Perinatal Death. Dublin: National Women and Infants Health Programme, Health Service Executive; 2021. Available from: https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/acute-hospitals-division/woman-infants/bereavement-care/hse-national-standards-for-bereavement-care.pdf. 

(55) O’Donoghue K. As a society, we still prefer to pretend pregnancy loss doesn’t happen – The Irish Times. 2023. Available from: https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2023/06/01/as-a-society-we-still-prefer-to-pretend-pregnancy-loss-doesnt-happen/. 

(56) Pregnancy Loss Research Group. University College Cork. 2025. Public and political awareness of pregnancy loss. Available from: https://www.ucc.ie/en/pregnancyloss/researchareas/publicandpoliticalawarenessofpregnancyloss/. 

(57) Pregnancy Loss Research Group. University College Cork. 2025. Why don’t we talk about pregnancy loss? Available from: https://www.ucc.ie/en/pregnancyloss/policyandadvocacy/whydontwetalkaboutpregnancyloss/.