Kirsty: Shocking 17 stillborn babies a day in U.K. must be addressed (Kirsty Williams AM )

Cymraeg
English

Kirsty Williams AM <info@kirstywilliams.org.uk>

Kirsty: Shocking 17 stillborn babies a day in U.K. must be addressed

June 16, 2009 12:00 AM

A baby is stillborn every other day in Wales and a further 2 babies die shortly after birth every week; Kirsty Williams AM, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, is therefore launching the Why17? Welsh campaign with the stillbirth and neonatal death charity (SANDS).

Every day an average of ten babies are stillborn in the UK as a whole. Seven more die shortly after their birth. That's 17 babies every day. Sands believes that many of these deaths are potentially avoidable.

Kirsty Williams said: "With one baby in every 200 being stillborn, the levels of stillbirths in the UK are shockingly high. This number is ten times the number of cot deaths, yet whilst numbers of cot deaths have drastically reduced in recent years, over the past 12 years there has been no significant improvement in stillbirth rates in Wales.

"As a country we must stop accepting stillbirths as the norm, instead we must tackle this tragic trend. The aim of this campaign is to make sure that stillbirths and neonatal deaths are recognised as a major health issue in Wales."

"The stillbirth or neonatal death of a baby is no less a death than the death of any other child and we must not treat it as so. With better care and targeted research many of these deaths could potentially be avoided. We are calling upon the Welsh Government to take action now to save these babies' lives."

Notes:

Founded in 1978, Sands, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity, was set up by a group of parents devastated by the death of their babies. In particular they felt there was a complete lack of acknowledgement and understanding of the significance and impact of their loss. Over the past 30 years the charity has supported many thousands of families whose babies have died and has led the way in developing a collaborative model of working with health professionals to improve bereavement care. Our internationally respected 'Guidelines for Professionals' transformed the way in which bereaved parents and their babies are cared for today.

Kirsty is sponsoring the launch of the SANDS Strategy for prevention: Saving Babies' lives report on Wednesday 17th June 2009 at 12pm to 1.30pm in the Oriel, Senedd. AMs are being asked to pledge their support for the campaign at the event and to wear a why17 pin badge for the day. The Sands petition calling for a strategy to tackle stillbirths and neonatal deaths will be handed over to the Assembly at this event.

Leading up to the event in the Welsh Assembly, members of local Welsh Sands groups are undertaking a 7 day journey across Wales to raise awareness and funds