It is wholly unacceptable that the Government is cutting back on essential support and services that needy and vulnerable families depend on to ensure there are no unnecessary baby deaths.
I completely agree that serious research into the causes of stillbirth and neonatal deaths as a whole, need to be investigated including the role of racial disparity.
Clearly the Sands and Tommy’s Joint Policy Unit is doing great work in championing this issue, especially in providing training packages for healthcare, and creating a community for bereavement support. Their report can be found here.
The running down of the NHS clearly plays a part in the number of stillbirth and neonatal deaths, and the running down of welfare won’t be helping the situation.
Also, the racism in our society, which results in disparity in life chances and a lot more, will be a major factor in the disparity in stillbirth and neonatal deaths.
Poverty is rising, and the Government’s callous £20 cut to Universal Credit has made this even worse. It is a national disgrace.