Every year, actress Kym Marsh commemorates the birthday of her son Archie, who passed away in 2009 after being born just 21 weeks into her pregnancy. Marsh held Archie in her arms and arranged a funeral for him. Today, her family remembers him during Christmas celebrations. Her 13-year-old daughter, born after Archie’s death, knows all about her older brother.
However, Marsh previously lacked an official government certificate acknowledging her loss. Now, she can apply for one as part of a new program in England aimed at supporting parents who have lost a baby during pregnancy.
In the UK, an estimated 250,000 pregnancies end in miscarriage before 24 weeks each year, affecting about one in five women. “These certificates mean so much. They make your baby not just a statistic,” Marsh told BBC Breakfast. “He mattered to all of us. For us to not get anything that recognized he was here was absolutely heartbreaking. He was a little person and he was our little person.”
Marsh expressed her delight at the new certificates, calling it a significant victory for all parents experiencing loss. The government launched the certificate program in February for parents who had suffered a loss since September 2018. This phased approach aimed to prevent the system from becoming overwhelmed. The program has now expanded to include more parents, allowing them to obtain a certificate in memory of their baby if the pregnancy ended before 24 weeks. Certificates are also available for pregnancies that ended before 28 weeks prior to October 1, 1992.
Women and advocates have shared their thoughts with the BBC about how much these certificates mean to the millions of people who have experienced this often-hidden grief. Charley Day received one of over 50,000 certificates issued since February after her son Rory died 11 weeks into her pregnancy in July. She said the certificate has “changed the whole grieving process.” “For us, that’s just really been incredible – that our baby’s life has recognition,” she noted.
Many parents applied for certificates this week after waiting for acknowledgment of their losses. Tracy Fishburn, who suffered three miscarriages in 2016 and 2017, expressed her disappointment with the original cut-off date for the certificates. After hearing the restriction was lifted, she quickly applied. “I was in the middle of the school run. I was crying when I was doing it,” she said. All three of her miscarriages occurred before 12 weeks. “I had no scan photos, and I hadn’t reached the point of buying them clothes,” she explained, adding that this left her feeling as though they didn’t exist outside of her family.
Fishburn hopes the certificates will provide comfort following the “darkest” times of her life. Before 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Kate Jennings had applied for a certificate to remember her daughter JB, whose heart stopped beating 22 weeks into her pregnancy in 2016. “Not having that record was really hard and impacted the healing process,” she stated. Jennings keeps her daughter’s ashes in a ring, saying, “We literally carry her everywhere.”
Kirsty Jackson and her husband also requested certificates for the six babies they lost between 2004 and 2015. Jackson believes the certificates acknowledge that “you were a mum and dad” and affirm that “the loss is real.” She recounted a painful memory after her first miscarriage, describing how her manager told her to “get a grip” after she became visibly upset when a pregnant customer entered the bank where she worked. Following that experience, she changed branches and sought counseling. “It would have been great to have a certificate to say I lost a baby. No one believes it’s an actual loss,” she lamented, highlighting the taboo surrounding the subject.
Jackson expressed her satisfaction with the government support and the growing openness among younger generations. After many struggles, she finally had her only son in November 2009, calling it a “complete miracle.”
For others, the news on Wednesday represents years of advocacy. Baroness Benjamin, who introduced a bill to create these certificates in the House of Lords, plans to apply for the three babies she lost—her first 40 years ago. “I think about them all the time when it comes to that certain time of year,” she told BBC Breakfast. “The grief never leaves you.” She emphasized that the certificates are significant for both women and men, recalling how she and her husband “used to cry together” during their losses.
Zoe Clark-Coates, founder of the Saying Goodbye charity, also plans to apply for a certificate after spending nearly ten years campaigning on behalf of others. “It’s a really pivotal moment for people, whether they’ve lost their babies yesterday or 80 years ago,” she remarked, adding that families want something to remember their children by, even if they didn’t get to stay.
Kym Marsh reiterated the importance of having official documentation, stating it is “massively part of the grieving process.” This acknowledgment helps families to recognize their loss. “Because Archie was our child, he matters just as much as the ones that are lucky enough to be here,” she concluded. “A loss is a loss, and they were our children.”
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