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

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) 15 October 2021 is International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day;

(b) on that day, parents, families, friends and healthcare workers will memorialise babies they have lost through miscarriage, stillbirth and infant death;

(c) infant loss is a tragic and terrible event to go through for families, healthcare workers and friends, and International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day provides an opportunity to mark their shared loss; and

(d) direct support for persons affected by pregnancy and infant loss is difficult at the current time considering the local health environment;

(2) acknowledges that:

(a) each year approximately 150,000 women in Australia experience some form of pregnancy or infant loss;

(b) further issues are commonly faced by those close to these tragic events such as depression, anxiety, changes in relationships, development of unhealthy coping mechanisms and post-traumatic stress disorder;

(c) these effects, amongst others, are often underestimated and overlooked by healthcare professionals, friends, and even family members, especially concerning pregnancy loss related bereavement and subsequent grief;

(d) greater research and understanding is required to aide in the creation and establishment of programs, resources and services that support and provide assistance to survivors of baby loss and their families, and enable them to overcome their trauma and integrate their bereavement into their life in a healthy, helpful, healing manner;

(e) services for people affected by pregnancy or infant loss have been continuing, as best as possible, their necessary and significant work during this recent and difficult period; and

(f) further support is required including providing parents who aren't covered by leave entitlements with the same amount of paid leave they would be entitled to if their baby was born alive;

(3) expresses sympathy to all families who have suffered a miscarriage, a stillbirth or infant death; and

(4) commends every person who has supported parents and families through their journey from the loss of a baby.

October marks International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. As with all awareness campaigns, there is an encouragement to talk and recognise the loss of a baby by miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal death. By talking we're raising awareness and we're raising money, instigating research to reduce the incidence of this loss and find ways to prevent families distress in the future.

Every year in Australia 110,000 mothers experience miscarriage. More than 2,200 endure a stillbirth and 600 more families lose their babies in the first 28 days of life. If you come from a culturally or linguistically diverse background the statistics are higher for you. If you are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander the statistics show you are 50 per cent more likely to see your baby die. COVID-19 has presented more challenges for families who have been affected by the loss of a baby over the last two years, given the necessary isolation from families and friends who could provide support and comfort. Getting COVID in pregnancy is also extremely dangerous for the health of the mother and baby. Medical experts recommend getting vaccinated if you're thinking of having a baby or are currently pregnant so, please, talk to your doctor or medical professional and consider booking in for a vaccination.

Last Friday 15 October social media was full of images of candles lit for beloved babies. This event every year gives families an important opportunity to publicly remember and reduce stigma that often follows the loss of a baby. Red Nose and Sands Australia are also supporting parents by their Say Their Name campaign, which encourages parents to remember their babies by posting their names on social media in their birth month. Often the feedback from bereaved families in isolation is that they don't think there's a space to talk about their babies that have died. And well-meaning comments, like, 'You're young, you can have another one,' or, 'At least you already have children' don't provide mothers, fathers, siblings or grandparents a place to talk and remember their baby. All parents love talking about their children and it's no different for families who have lost a baby. Having people remember their birthdays, even after many years, makes the loss easier to bear.

The hardest question I'm often asked is how many children I have. My answer is rarely 'five' for so many complicated reasons, but mostly because society has no real words to comfort grief of any sort, and especially that of a baby. I have three wonderful boys I've watched grow and succeed in life, and two babies who, although are thought of every day, are not with us to share our celebrations. Raising awareness not only supports families dealing with those losses but also ensures research to improve outcomes in the future. Government initiatives and funding for research are vitally important. The National Stillbirth Action and Implementation Plan is one of the things we need to fund and support.

Overall, Australia is one of the safest places in the world to have a baby, but even here over 100,000 pregnancies a year will end without a healthy baby to take home. That is why groups such as Red Nose, Sands, Miracle Babies and the Stillbirth Foundation are so crucially important to support families grieving the loss of their babies. These groups support and help mothers, fathers and the rest of the family negotiate not just those first few weeks and months but the subsequent pregnancies, which are often difficult, as they bring back so many negative memories.

I encourage and acknowledge all of the researchers, doctors, nurses and families who are contributing every day to finding the answers that will help reduce these rates. I especially recognise all the families who share their stories to make sure that their special children are not forgotten and other families do not suffer in the future. I acknowledge the medical professionals and my friends and family who supported us on our journey of loss. I remember Michael and Meaghan.

Trent Zimmerman (North Sydney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Werriwa for her contribution. Is the motion seconded?

An honourable member: I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Celia Hammond (Curtin, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Werriwa for moving this motion and I acknowledge her grief. Losing a child is the ultimate tragedy. It is the worst possible grief—beyond reckoning—and it doesn't end. Pregnancy and infant loss touch so many Australians. Each year one in four pregnancies end in a miscarriage and one in six pregnancies end in a stillbirth. This means that nearly every Australian has been touched by the loss of a baby, either indirectly or directly.

On 17 February this year a motion was passed in this place for 15 October to be officially and eternally recognised as International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. Official recognition of International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day in Australia acknowledges the loss and ongoing grief that those impacted by pregnancy and infant loss endure. It was an honour to attend the memorial service at the King Edward Memorial Hospital's rose garden last Friday to take time to remember the babies that have died due to miscarriage or stillbirth. The day provided these families with the knowledge that they are not alone and that there is support for them in the Australian community. It was a day on which parents, families and friends memorialised babies lost through infant death, stillbirth or miscarriage. There are more than 40,000 babies memorialised in the rose garden.

To acknowledge the tragedy of losing a baby, the government is investing $152 million in perinatal services and support measures to improve health outcomes for mothers and babies. This forms part of Australia's broader commitment to the National Stillbirth Action and Implementation Plan, which the federal government released last year. The plan aims to reduce stillbirth rates in Australia by 20 per cent or more in the next five years. This government also recognises that preterm birth is a cause of infant loss and has committed $13 million to implement the Australian Preterm Birth Prevention Alliance nationally to reduce the rate of preterm birth in Australia. I note and commend Professor John Newnham and his team, who lead this national program out of my electorate.

There has also been $21 million committed for specific actions to target women at increased risk of stillbirth, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. The government is working closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to design stillbirth prevention messages that resonate with these population groups.

Bereaved parents often suffer in silence, which is why the government is investing in ongoing support for the wellbeing of parents, including $43 million towards the Perinatal Mental Health and Wellbeing Program, which includes support for families experiencing grief following the death of a child.

To provide intensive support to families experiencing stillbirth, the government is working with Red Nose to fund the Hospital to Home program. The government is dedicated to working closely with other non-government organisations like the Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth and the Australian Preterm Birth Prevention Alliance to help reach as many families as we can. The government is proud to be working with a wide range of organisations and is committed to improving the health of mothers and babies to reduce the devastation of pregnancy and infant loss.

The formal recognition of 15 October as International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day gives us all the opportunity to acknowledge the loss and ongoing grief that those impacted by pregnancy and infant loss endure. In closing, I want to recognise and thank a dedicated and inspiring WA couple, John and Kate De'Laney, for their work in relation to pregnancy and infant loss and on having this day officially recognised. Mr and Mrs De'Laney lost seven babies by miscarriage. After losing their first baby, the De'Laneys didn't know where to turn, who to talk to or where to get support. Over time, and by supporting each other, they discovered that the loss of a baby is not something that you get over; you just have to find a way of integrating it into your life. Since that time, John and Kate have dedicated themselves to raising awareness of the issue of pregnancy and infant loss to ensure that no-one ever feels as alone and unsupported as they did on the day they lost their first child. They do this with one of their eight children, beautiful Mary-Jane, who has now, deservedly, had her name noted and recognised in Hansard numerous times, both here in Canberra and back home in Western Australia.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a very important motion, and I thank the member for Werriwa for moving it. Miscarriage, pregnancy loss and neonatal death are very important parts of the work of a perinatologist's life. In Australia, whilst we have very good medical care, these are areas that have been sorely neglected for a long period of time. I wish to acknowledge Dr Peter Barr, who was a mentor of mine, a perinatologist and neonatologist at Royal North Shore Hospital, who started the first awareness campaign for pregnancy loss and neonatal death in Australia and who has subsequently provided ongoing care for parents who have lost a child during pregnancy or shortly afterwards.

There are several things that I want to make mention of in talking to this motion. Firstly, in Australia we have no uniform newborn screening test program. As mentioned in the previous motion, it's very important that Australia, on an urgent basis, does have a uniform, national program for neonatal screening tests for common disorders and less common disorders for which treatment is now available. This needs to be Australia wide, and it requires some urgency to develop. That's the first ask. I want to pay tribute to Felicity McNeill from Better Access Australia, who has been campaigning long and hard to have a national newborn screening program developed in Australia. This would certainly save lives. It would be very cost-effective. In the 21st century, when treatments are available for some of the rare genetic and metabolic disorders, it is very important that we bring our services up to date and have a national program.

We also need to provide support on an ongoing basis to those who have lost a pregnancy or had a neonatal death. As has been said, the pain does not go away. People do learn to deal with it, but the pain itself continues. I feel for every one of the patients that I've cared for, for every one of those families who have lost a child in pregnancy or in the neonatal period. Much more needs to be done in terms of research. It's estimated that up to 50 per cent of miscarriages are preventable. Diseases such as undiagnosed diabetes and medical conditions caused by poor control of high blood pressure or drug and alcohol intake and other factors that can cause miscarriage are diagnosable and treatable if they're picked up early enough. Not everyone in Australia has access to a highly detailed ultrasound that can pick up congenital abnormalities. Treatment is available for many of these abnormalities before birth if they're picked up early enough. It's very important that they are picked up and managed and that treatment is available throughout Australia.

For a long time I've been asking my party, the Labor Party, to adopt as our child health program a program called First 1000 Days. It provides assessment and support for all children from pre conception to the age of two. It looks at illness, it looks at preventable causes and it looks at management of pregnancy and afterwards. Simple measures can make huge differences. For example, we know that, in relation to sudden infant death syndrome, the simple thing of getting a child to sleep on its back instead of its stomach can reduce our sudden infant death rates by over 50 per cent. It's unbelievable that a simple treatment like that can and does have such a huge effect. Simple measures like encouraging breastfeeding and proper infant nutrition can make huge differences throughout life, so it's about time we adopted policies like the First 1000 Days to make sure that preventable causes of pregnancy loss and neonatal and infant death can be prevented.

I would like to pay tribute to the work of Red Nose and Sands who have constantly campaigned on these measures. I would like to pay tribute to all of the families who have suffered a neonatal death or infant loss through a miscarriage because I know the pain of that goes on for a long time, and it's up to us, as politicians, to make sure that measures are put in place to support you as best we can.

Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's great to have an opportunity to speak briefly on this motion, and I thank the member for Werriwa for bringing forward this motion and acknowledge her loss. Her contribution was really very heart-warming, but we could all hear the pain in her voice. I know that there are many people who sit in this House but don't talk about these issues, and it's very brave of her to talk about her experience. I would like to acknowledge that it is International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. I want to thank all of those who have contributed to this discussion today. I particularly want to acknowledge the member for Macarthur for his contributions this morning, not just on this motion but also with respect to spinal muscular atrophy. The theme running through this morning in the House seems to be around research that's needed to identify issues relating to childbirth and testing regimes. Pregnancy and infant loss is a really difficult issue for all of us, including myself, so I'm glad that I've at least had an opportunity to acknowledge and thank everyone for their contributions today.

Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] I would like to thank the member for Werriwa for putting together this motion to mark International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. This is a very important day because, as members have said in previous contributions to this discussion, losing an infant or losing a pregnancy is not spoken about in the same way as losing someone else in your family is spoken about. For a lot of people, miscarriage is not spoken about at all, despite over 110,000 Australians a year experiencing a miscarriage. It's not spoken about much, but that doesn't mean, as many members have said, that the grief is not real and present and is only made harder by the fact that, in many cases, people aren't able to speak about it. I have to say that comments such as, 'Oh, well, you'll be able to get pregnant again,' are not helpful. Certainly, that has been my personal experience, having lost two pregnancies to miscarriag Hearing those sorts of comments from well-meaning people is very difficult, because the loss is real. The loss is there, and it can carry on for some time. I think that many people, after they've experienced a miscarriage, feel that they have to soldier on and just get on with it—to just continue to get on with their daily lives. That was certainly my experience after a miscarriage. I came back to parliament within two days, feeling I had to get on with life and not really speaking about it much at all. It is an important message, as we think about this day and think about Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month; it is important to talk about it.

Previous speakers have spoken about prevention, and that is really important. When we talk about prevention, we need to do everything we can to make sure that everything is put in place, from a public health perspective, to reduce the instances of infant loss and stillbirth, in particular. I'd like to acknowledge the huge amount of work done by Kristina Keneally, Catryna Bilyk and the other members of the Senate committee, who have worked very hard to look at what needs to be done to prevent stillbirth. Sadly, Indigenous women are 50 per cent more likely to have a stillborn baby, so there is more work that can be done.

An important message on this day of remembrance is that, sometimes, it's just a really sad, unfortunate issue about which nothing can be done. That was certainly my experience, when I had what was called a 'missed miscarriage', which is not very common. That is where you think everything is okay. You turn up to the doctor and have a scan, and no heartbeat can be found. That is particularly traumatic. It's not something that you think is going to happen; you rock up for your scan expecting to hear good news. For me, it was a very difficult situation when no heartbeat could be found. Nothing could have been done to prevent that—it was one of those difficult situations—but it doesn't mean the loss is not felt equally as hard.

So, on Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, it's important that we remember. It's important that we commit to take all the steps we can to prevent these sorts of occurrences, but it's also important to accept that there are circumstances where nothing can change the course of this loss. It's important to remember, to acknowledge, to grieve and to make sure that our society and community are able to talk about these things. It's not good enough that people don't feel that they can talk about these losses. It's important for it to be properly acknowledged by others. We need to commit ourselves to that understanding and commit ourselves to grieve with others who have lost. Most importantly, on this motion, I would like to say to all of those who have lost an infant or miscarried a baby: I'm sorry for your loss.

Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank the member for Werriwa for this motion today. It's incredibly important to acknowledge International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, which was last Friday 15 October. It's a day to recognise bereaved parents, families and friends—because, let's be clear, it does actually affect a whole community—and to remember the babies they have lost through miscarriage, stillbirth and infant death. It's also a day to acknowledge those wonderful healthcare workers who provide support and wrap services around parents in their time of need.

It is likely we all know someone who has been affected by pregnancy and infant loss, but we may not even know that they were affected. It is all too often a private grief. Even though Australia is one of the safest countries in the world for a baby to be born, still more than 2,000 babies are stillborn each year. Thousands of families suffer with the terrible experience of miscarriage every year. I myself had a miscarriage between my third and fourth child, so I also know of the grief that people suffer.

Sadly, three out of every 1,000 babies born in Australia every year die within the first month of their lives. For those families and parents who have suffered infant loss either in pregnancy or around birth the physical and psychological damage is traumatic and incredibly painful. As a doctor, I heard stories from women who have remained traumatised for decades following the callous way in which these issues were handled a generation ago. I'm pleased to say that this is no longer the case to the same extent, and a significant improvement in the way these issues are handled has really helped to prevent the deep and ongoing emotional effects brought on by the tragedies. Still, too often they can be overlooked and underestimated, and that's partly because of the privacy of the grief around these issues. The trauma of these events can trigger depression, anxiety, relationship breakdowns and even post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Morrison government understands the significant impact that pregnancy and infant loss has on families, and that's why it is working in partnership with states and territories and a whole range of important organisations. It has also made a significant commitment of funding to this important area. Last year the Morrison government announced the National Stillbirth Action and Implementation Plan. This plan invests $152 million in perinatal services and support measures to improve health outcomes for babies and mothers. It includes $21 million in measures to reduce stillbirth and support families affected by stillbirth. Measures include education and awareness programs, the development of a new clinical care standard and the support of research so that we can always do better. This investment aims to reduce stillbirth rates in Australia by more than 20 per cent by the end of 2025.

The government recognises that preterm birth is a major cause of stillbirth and infant loss, and it is providing $13 million to implement the Australian Preterm Birth Prevention Alliance to reduce the rate of preterm birth nationally. The government is also investing $43.9 million in the Perinatal Mental Health and Wellbeing Program, providing support for families experiencing grief following the death of a child, including as a result of stillbirth. To ensure intensive support is available to families experiencing stillbirth, the government is also investing in Red Nose to deliver the Hospital to Home program and has announced an additional $400,000 to ensure the program continues for an additional six months. We all know that sometimes it's hard to leave home when you're dealing with grief and bereavement, so it's wonderful to hear that these outreach services are going into the home to support families in their time of need.

I was proud to be part of this government and to speak in support of the Fair Work Amendment (Improving Unpaid Parental Leave for Parents of Stillborn Babies and Other Measures) Bill last year. This bill amended the unpaid parental leave provisions and complemented the government funded paid parental leave pay changes. It provided parents with the same unpaid parental leave entitlements they would have had if their baby had survived, and this has really helped parents who are grieving, because this grief can be so private. It's a time that enables people to be with their family, their friends and their support system. It's a time not only to grieve but also to arrange funerals, to be together with those who love you and whom you love. In my first speech I said the words 'widow' and 'orphan' describe loss in our language but no words exists for a parent who has lost a child. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could eliminate the devastation of infant loss? I commend this motion to the House.

Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.