We’re delving deeper to understand how businesses and employees can be more supportive and empathetic to colleagues who experience baby loss
Baby loss is extremely common, affecting one in four pregnancies. However, it still feels like a huge taboo, especially in the workplace.
More and more employers are starting to acknowledge the pain and impact of baby loss through leave policies. This is a brilliant step in the right direction but it’s no good having a leave policy if your employees don’t feel empowered to tell HR or their line manager that they’ve had a loss.
At UM we’re delving deeper to understand how businesses and employees can be more supportive and empathetic to colleagues who experience baby loss.
We’re conducting important research into this topic, with support from Bloom, and we would love your help in completing this short survey. The survey will close on Friday 8 October. Please note that no personal data will be captured at any stage in the survey.
We’ll be using the results to drive real policy changes within our industry as well as to open up the conversation so those who have had a loss don’t feel so alone.
As someone who’s experienced baby loss, I know that as soon as you see the two lines, or ‘pregnant’ on the test, you don’t think of a ball of cells, you think of the baby that’s going to arrive in nine months. The loss of the life you imagined can be devastating both physically and emotionally.
Returning to work after a loss can feel very isolating, whether you’ve told colleagues or not. Because it’s an extremely tough topic no one talks about, very few people know what to say. One friend in the industry told me how she didn’t tell anyone about her loss but then five years later it transpired that two close colleagues also had losses within the same year. It was a tragedy that, while they could have been a support network for each other, they all suffered alone in silence.
In my experience, knowledge is power. If we can gain an understanding of people’s experiences: how they felt about discussing things with their employer; how they found comfort; what support they needed from their colleagues – we’ll be taking the first step in understanding how to help those who go through baby loss in the future.
This survey is designed to do just that – and the more input we receive, the better the picture we can paint of this hugely complex area, and the better we can advise our employers and the wider industry around supporting people through the experience of loss. It should go without saying that we want to hear from partners as well, who we forget at our peril.
Thank you, everyone, your input is hugely appreciated, and thank you to Mediatel for helping us to bring this important project to life. Keep an eye out for the findings of our study; they’ll be published on Mediatel News in October.
Please click here to complete our survey.
Franky Farmer is strategy director at UM
If some of the content in this article is triggering for any readers, please don’t suffer in silence. Help is available from various charities including The Miscarriage Association, Tommy’s and Sands.
