We did it ❤️❤️❤️ Everyone in England can now apply for a baby loss certificate, whether the loss was yesterday or eighty years ago. Ten years ago, I had a dream that the parents of every baby that was lost in pregnancy would be able to be given an official government-issued certificate, so we launched a campaign. Mariposa International (Saying Goodbye) was a lone voice until Baroness Floella Benjamin pledged to support us in our endeavour. Roll forward a few years to March 2018 when The Secretary of State for Health asked me and Samantha Collinge to co-chair and author the government’s pregnancy loss review, which included looking at the feasibility of introducing the certificate. All of that work has resulted in this significant day. I know how much this means to so many people as your babies are finally being officially acknowledged.

Tomorrow - all welcome at the @SayingGoodbyeUK service in Canterbury

NEW SURVEY If you have experienced the loss of a baby, you have probably had the words ‘time heals all wounds’ or similar said to you…it and similar platitudes are often given by friends, family members and even strangers. Whilst your ability to carry your grief may improve over time, you will carry your experience for your whole life, as it profoundly changes who you are. We are wanting to explore how ‘time passing by, does not mean that a baby is forgotten.’ If you are in the UK, and experienced a baby loss 15-60 years ago, we would love you to complete this short survey which explores how the experience of baby loss is felt over time. This will help Mariposa International as we create support, campaigns and resources to better help the bereaved. We so appreciate you taking the time to complete this survey, and please understand that all results are anonymous. Thank you for helping us to better support the bereaved. surveymonkey.com/r/R8G9HQ9

Who was there when it mattered? Perhaps it was the doctor who treated you as a person, not simply a patient. The nurse or midwife who remembered your baby’s name. The fertility specialist who somehow held hope and honesty in the same conversation. The clinic that made an impossibly difficult journey feel a little less lonely. Or the workplace, manager or organisation that understood grief, loss and infertility do not disappear when someone walks through the office door. The 2027 Mariposa Awards are now open for nominations. They exist to recognise the people and organisations who get the human things right when life gets painfully hard. Because exceptional care is not always found in grand gestures. Sometimes it is a sentence you never forget. An extra five minutes. A hand held. A kindness offered without being asked. A workplace saying, take the time you need. Someone making you feel that, in one of the hardest chapters of your life, you mattered. If someone came into your mind while reading this, please nominate them. Your nomination is more than a thank you. It recognises exceptional care, shows others what good support looks like, and celebrates the people quietly changing lives every day. Nominations are open for: • Medical professionals supporting families through baby loss • Fertility specialists and clinics supporting people through infertility • Workplaces showing exceptional care to employees facing these experiences Someone deserves to know that what they did mattered. Nominate them for a 2027 Mariposa Award today: sayinggoodbye.org/mariposa-a…

We are thrilled to have so many people running in races around the country, over the coming months, but we still have an urgent need for more runners to fill spaces in the Great North Run on the 13th of September and the Windsor Half Marathon on the 27th of September. Whether you are a novice, an experienced distance runner, or simply want to take on a challenge to support the charity, we would love you to take on one or multiple races as part of #TeamSG. Mariposa International relies on the incredible support of people like you to take on challenges and raise funds for the charity’s vital work, so please use this link to apply today. sayinggoodbye.org/special-ev… If you have questions, please email [email protected], where Dave, Mollie and Laura will be able to assist.

Our response to Baroness Amos Review can be read here: sayinggoodbye.org/baroness-a… “The measure of any maternity and neonatal service is not simply how many babies it helps bring safely into the world. It is also how it stands beside families when the unimaginable happens. Families will not judge this moment by today’s headlines. They will judge it by whether fewer parents leave hospital with unanswered questions, whether more babies’ lives are protected, whether more families receive the compassion they deserve and whether no one is left feeling forgotten in their darkest hour. Until every family can have confidence that every possible lesson has been learned, every avoidable death and preventable injury has been rigorously examined, and every bereaved family receives the compassionate care they deserve, our work is not done.”

My full response to Baroness Amos Review sayinggoodbye.org/baroness-a…

Very concerning

Scotland ❤️ We are honoured to be holding two Saying Goodbye Services. 📍 Saturday, Glasgow Cathedral 📍 Tuesday evening, Inverness Cathedral If you’ve experienced the loss of a baby, whether recently or many decades ago, we’d love to welcome you to a Saying Goodbye service. These services are also for anyone living with the grief of infertility, or the heartbreak of childlessness. Everybody is welcome to attend, including grandparents, siblings, wider family members, friends, children and babies. If this loss has touched your life in any way, there is a place for you. There is nothing expected of you. Come and remember, reflect, light a candle if you wish, and know that every baby is remembered, every story matters, and you will be met with kindness. If you’re within travelling distance of Glasgow or Inverness, please come along and meet the team. And if someone comes to mind as you read this, please share it with them. It could be the invitation they’ve been waiting for. ❤️

Scotland ❤️ We are honoured to be holding two Saying Goodbye Services. 📍 Saturday, Glasgow Cathedral 📍 Tuesday evening, Inverness Cathedral If you’ve experienced the loss of a baby, whether recently or many decades ago, we’d love to welcome you to a Saying Goodbye service. These services are also for anyone living with the grief of infertility, or the heartbreak of childlessness. Everybody is welcome to attend, including grandparents, siblings, wider family members, friends, children and babies. If this loss has touched your life in any way, there is a place for you. There is nothing expected of you. Come and remember, reflect, light a candle if you wish, and know that every baby is remembered, every story matters, and you will be met with kindness. If you’re within travelling distance of Glasgow or Inverness, please come along and meet the team. And if someone comes to mind as you read this, please share it with them. It could be the invitation they’ve been waiting for. ❤️

The findings emerging from the Nottingham inquiry, alongside the ongoing investigation in Leeds and the lessons from previous maternity inquiries, raise a question we can no longer afford to ignore. Having co chaired and authored the Pregnancy Loss Review, the first national review of its kind to examine the care provided to families experiencing pre 24 week baby loss across England, I have seen first hand the value of looking beyond individual hospitals to identify national patterns and opportunities for improvement. The PLR resulted in 73 recommendations for change, all accepted by Government, some of which have now been implemented, with others continuing to be rolled out. Today, as Global CEO of Mariposa International, I continue to hear from families every single day whose lives have been devastated by avoidable failings in maternity care. Their experiences, alongside the evidence gathered through national reviews and public inquiries, reinforce my conviction that we must stop waiting for tragedy before taking action. Whilst I welcome Baroness Amos’ investigation and the vital contribution I hope it will make, I believe the evidence now points to the need for a truly national approach. Rather than waiting for families to endure unimaginable loss before spending years campaigning for an independent inquiry into their local hospital, we should take a proactive approach. Every maternity unit across the country should be subject to an independent review. This is not about assuming every hospital is failing. It is about ensuring every family receives safe, compassionate and high quality care, wherever they live. Traumatised families should never have to carry the burden of exposing systemic failures. That responsibility belongs to the system itself. However, reviews alone are not enough. Recommendations must be implemented swiftly and consistently. Every delay risks more families experiencing avoidable harm. We owe it to every parent and every baby to ensure that the lessons we identify are translated into meaningful action without unnecessary delay. Zoe Clark-Coates MBE

To every family affected by the events in Nottingham, Please know that you are not alone. Many of you have carried grief, questions, anger, heartbreak, and a longing for answers for far longer than anyone should have to bear. Some have spent years fighting to have your voices heard, while carrying the unimaginable weight of loss alongside that struggle. Today, I want simply to acknowledge you. Your babies matter. Your stories matter. Your experiences matter. Nothing can undo what has happened, but I hope you know that there are people across the country standing with you, listening to you, and holding space for both your grief and your search for truth. For those whose hearts are heavy today, I am thinking of you and your precious babies with deep respect and compassion. Zoe xx

Today’s report is heartbreaking. For years, families have carried the weight of loss, trauma and unanswered questions while fighting to ensure their experiences were recognised. Their courage has brought us to this moment. As someone who has spent many years supporting bereaved parents, and who had the privilege of co-chairing and authoring the Pregnancy Loss Review, I have seen first-hand the power of families’ voices to drive meaningful change. One message echoes throughout this report: women knew something was wrong, but too often they did not feel heard. Every parent deserves to be listened to. Every concern deserves to be taken seriously. Every baby deserves the safest possible care. No report can undo the devastation experienced by the families at the heart of these findings. But it can provide truth, accountability and an opportunity to do better. The greatest tribute we can pay to the babies, mothers, fathers and families affected is to ensure these lessons lead to action. Not next year, not in another review, but now. Today, my thoughts are with every family whose story sits behind these findings. Their courage has shone a light on failures that must never be repeated, and their voices must continue to shape the future of maternity care in this country. Please know support is available 24/7 from @sayinggoodbye_charity if you need it. Zoe Clark-Coates MBE Global CEO Mariposa International (Saying Goodbye) #ockendon #maternity #babyloss #nottingham

Today, we are absolutely delighted to see Baby Loss Certificates become available in Northern Ireland. This is a moment that means so much. More than a decade ago, we began campaigning for official recognition of babies lost before 24 weeks. Through years of advocacy by Mariposa International (Saying Goodbye), and later through the Pregnancy Loss Review, which I was honoured to co-chair and author alongside Sam Collinge, Baby Loss Certificates became a reality in England and a similar scheme was launched in Scotland. From the very beginning, our vision was that every bereaved family, wherever they lived, would have access to this recognition. Today, we are incredibly proud to see that vision extended to Northern Ireland. We would like to thank all those in Northern Ireland who have worked to make this rollout possible, including the elected representatives, officials and advocates who recognised the importance of giving bereaved families this opportunity. While no certificate can ever lessen the pain of losing a baby, recognition matters. Acknowledgement matters. Remembering matters. We hope these certificates bring comfort and validation to families across Northern Ireland, and provide a lasting acknowledgement of babies who were, and always will be, deeply loved. This is an important day for bereaved families, and one we are proud to have played a part in bringing about. We look forward to announcing the roll out in Wales soon. Huge thanks to @FloellaBenjamin for working with us on this campaign - together we made this happen. @SayingGoodbyeUK

Every year, thousands of people take on the Great North Run, which is the world’s biggest half marathon. This year, you could run with purpose. You could run knowing that every training run, every mile and every step on race day will help us continue supporting bereaved families through some of life’s most difficult moments. We have places available and would love to welcome you to #TEAMSG. Whether you’re an experienced runner or taking on your very first half marathon, we’ll be cheering you on every step of the way. sayinggoodbye.org/special-ev… Or email - 📧 [email protected] Let’s make a difference together. 💜🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️🦋 #GreatNorthRun #TeamSG #MariposaInternational #SayingGoodbye