'All stillborn babies deserve a proper funeral'

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Ripon mortuary technician Evie Mawdsley is campaigning for financial support for funerals of babies lost before 24 weeks

A woman who became a baby bereavement specialist after her own loss during pregnancy has called on the government to help cover the costs of funerals for all babies.

Mortuary technician Evie Mawdsley from Ripon has gathered more than 24,000 signatures on a petition demanding the government extend its Children's Funeral Fund.

Currently this fund helps cover some funeral costs for children including babies who are stillborn after the 24th week of pregnancy, but Ms Mawdsley wants it to cover babies lost earlier.

A government spokesperson said: “While nothing can ever truly heal the pain of losing a child, this government will always ensure that all families are given the support they need.”

Ms Mawdsley, who works at Rushton Family Funerals, decided to become a bereavement specialist after losing one of her twins during pregnancy.

In 2018, one of her twin babies, Beatrix, died but she had to continue the pregnancy because twin Henry was still alive.

Although her daughter died at 34 weeks and she was eligible for the Children’s Funeral Fund, she did not know about the support available so she arranged a direct cremation.

Having spoken with families who were not eligible for the funding, she said: "I want to make sure other parents get the opportunity to say goodbye no matter what gestation their baby has died at."

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Ms Mawdsley said it was "appalling" financial support was not available to parents bereaved before 24 weeks of gestation

The Children's Funeral Fund is available for any child born between 24 weeks and the age of 18.

It is not means tested and can help pay for burial fees, cremation fees and the cost of a coffin, shroud or casket.

Ms Mawdsley said it was "appalling" the fund did not provide support for families of children stillborn at less than 24 weeks of gestation.

She said: “We’ve had babies coming into our care that have very visibly looked like a baby and their families aren’t able to say a proper goodbye.

“I think it completely invalidates that they’ve lost a baby.

"I think it invalidates all of their grief."

Since launching the petition, Ms Mawdsley said she had received dozens of messages of support from bereaved parents, including Hayley Patrick-Copeland from North Duffield.

Ms Patrick-Copeland lost her identical twin daughters Alya and Aleah in 2022 at 24 weeks and three days of pregnancy.

She said she was “blessed enough” to receive the support she needed but was concerned that if her babies had died three days earlier, she would have received no support.

She said it made her "really emotional" to be told that "in some kind of respect your child doesn’t qualify for something or isn’t worthy on top of everything you’re going through".

Rowena Pailing is head of bereavement support services for the charity Sands, which campaigns to save babies' lives and support bereaved families.

She said: “I think that if there is a cut-off date for any eligibility of service or for any kind of remuneration then it’s going to be really difficult for anybody who precedes that.

“I think there is something about validation of experience and one of the things we hear from a lot of bereaved parents is that they want their baby, their child to be acknowledged.”

She added: “The vast majority of funeral directors are really supportive.

“I would prioritise telling parents to speak to their local funeral directors about what’s possible.”

Ms Mawdsley said she had been in touch with MPs and hoped a discussion would take place in Parliament.

The government spokesperson said: “The Children’s Funeral Fund was set up to alleviate the financial burden of parents who have lost a child stillborn at 24 weeks up until 18 years, and parents who suffer pre-24 week pregnancy loss can apply for a baby loss certificate to be able to officially recognise their existence.”

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