Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

STANLEY (—) (): I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) October was Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, and that Sunday 15 October 2024 marks Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day; and

(b) this day acknowledges the shared loss experienced by parents, friends, and healthcare workers of those little ones lost too soon whether through miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death or any other loss;

(2) acknowledges:

(a) that there is a significant impact on families who have lost a baby;

(b) that every year 110,000 Australians experience a miscarriage, more than 2,000 experience stillbirth, and almost 700 lose a baby within the first 28 days;

(c) that stillbirth occurrence is higher in Aboriginal and culturally diverse communities; and

(d) all families who have experienced loss, either recently or over time; and

(3) commends the Government for providing $5.1 million to organisations to support women and families following stillbirth or miscarriage.

I'm a mum of five: three boys aged 36 and 30, and a boy and a girl who died 38 and 32 years ago. When asked about my children, I don't always add Michael and Meaghan, not because they are no longer part of our family and certainly not because I don't think of them regularly, but because I don't always have the ability to talk to people who haven't suffered the loss of a pregnancy through miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal loss. Reactions are wide and varied. In the early days I felt like people shied away from me. I'm sure that was because they didn't know what to say, and for good reason—they just didn't know how to help. Acknowledging the loss and the child by name makes such a difference to a grieving family.

Ours is a club no-one wants to join, but this year more than 110,000 Australian mums will experience a miscarriage. October each year is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, and Sunday 15 October was Remembrance Day, when families throughout this country light candles to acknowledge the babies who are thought of often but no longer take a place at the family table. Although Australia is one of the safest places in the world to give birth, around six babies are stillborn and two die within 28 days of birth in the neonatal stage, equating to around 3,000 perinatal deaths a year. Sometimes that's what makes the loss the hardest; there are so few of you and you rarely know someone in the same situation.

If you are an Indigenous mum or come from a CALD community, you are up to 50 per cent more likely to suffer pregnancy or baby loss. This figure is stubborn and hasn't changed in the eight years I've been in this place. Indeed, the figure has not substantially changed for 30 years. More research is needed. Better access to good, reliable prenatal care is also essential wherever you live.

The Albanese government, through the 2024-25 budget has dedicated $9.5 million to improve care and support provided to women and families experiencing miscarriage and early pregnancy loss. This included $1 million over two years to the Australian Institute of Welfare to undertake a miscarriage data-scoping study. The study will support work to better understand miscarriage and help to improve the support offered to women and their families, because if you don't know what's happening, you can't help. There will be $1.5 million over two years for a national audit of early pregnancy assessment service clinics—improved information can be used by GPs and other health professionals to ensure women experiencing pregnancy loss and other early pregnancy complications are referred to the proper specialist services where feasible. There is $1.5 million to develop miscarriage education and awareness resources, including public awareness and education programs. There is $5.5 million over four years for frontline miscarriage support services to provide evidence-based, culturally safe bereavement care, and support for women and families who have been impacted by miscarriage. Funding of $0.9 million over two years was also announced to continue to monitor and evaluate activities under the National Stillbirth Action and Implementation Plan. This is building on funding from previous budgets, with a continuation of Red Nose Australia's Hospital to Home program, which provides services to more than 2,000 Australian families who experience stillbirth each year. There is funding to deliver high-quality, evidence-based bereavement care for women and families from high-risk population groups that have experienced stillbirth and miscarriage, especially for those from First Nations, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, families living in rural and remote areas, and women younger than 20. This also includes direct bereavement counselling and training for health professionals.

There are encouraging signs that the research will help families and babies reduce the rate of deaths and miscarriages every year. More importantly, families will feel and be more supported in their journey of loss. To every family whose babies are no longer with them, I share your pain and remember your loved ones and acknowledge them.

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