15.A still-birth can be registered for a pregnancy loss after 24 weeks of pregnancy. A certificate of still-birth can be produced following the registration of the event. If an infant dies following a live birth, the birth and loss are recognised in the standard way: separate birth and death registrations are completed with birth and death certificates issued thereafter. There is currently no provision in Northern Ireland to recognise the loss of a baby prior to 24 weeks of pregnancy.
16.The aim of a Baby Loss Certificate Scheme is to provide a certificate which recognises the loss of a baby prior to 24 weeks of pregnancy. It will offer the opportunity to have the loss recorded, and to obtain a certificate. It will be entirely voluntary with no legal requirement to record the loss. The resulting certificates will have no legal standing but will provide a formal means of recognising the loss and its impact.
17.Estimates of how many pregnancies end in loss vary, as there is no standard method of reporting a miscarriage, and many may not be reported at all. It is widely quoted that around 1 in 4 pregnancies end in loss during pregnancy or birth.
18.Baby loss certificates were introduced in England on 22 February 2024 by the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC), acting on the plans in the Women’s Health Strategy for England and on recommendations from the Pregnancy Loss Review. The baby loss certificate in England is not a legal document and is obtained on a voluntary basis. The applicant must be over 16 years old and have lived in England at the time of the loss. Certificates were originally only offered for losses on or after 1 September 2018 but this has now changed and there is no time limit on when the loss occurred.
19.A similar scheme operates in Scotland. The National Records of Scotland (NRS) holds ‘The Memorial Book of Pregnancy and Baby Loss Prior to 24 weeks’. Once a loss has been recorded in the book, a commemorative certificate of the entry is issued free of charge. A certificate from the Memorial Book has no legal status and cannot be used as evidence of the loss. The loss must have occurred in Scotland at the time the application is made. There is no time limit on making an application for an entry in the Memorial Book. Applications may be submitted for historical or recent losses and also terminations.
20.A baby loss certificate scheme is currently being planned in Wales. No similar scheme is in operation in Ireland.
Background and Policy Objectives Legislative Basis for Baby Loss Certificate Scheme