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Source: https://hr.admin.ox.ac.uk/pregnancy-loss Parent: https://hr.admin.ox.ac.uk/staff-benefits

Last reviewed and updated April 2024

The loss of a baby through miscarriage or still birth is a very difficult time and can have a major impact on the health and wellbeing of both parents.  The University recognises that supporting an employee who has experienced such a loss requires compassion, flexibility and sensitivity.

What is pregnancy loss?

A miscarriageis the loss of a baby during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. Further definitions include an early miscarriage (before 12 weeks) and late miscarriage (after the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, but before 24 weeks).

Some pregnancies may be terminated for medical reasons for example because of an ectopic pregnancy which happens when a fertilised egg attaches itself somewhere outside the uterus. Although very rare, another kind of pregnancy loss is molar pregnancy, when a foetus doesn’t form properly in the womb.

A stillbirthis when a baby dies before or during labour after 24 completed weeks of pregnancy.

For those who have had difficulty conceiving, and may have been undergoing fertility treatments, pregnancy loss can be particularly sensitive. Some people may have the distressing experience of more than one pregnancy or baby loss, including recurrent miscarriage. In the UK recurrent miscarriage means having three or more miscarriages in a row, affecting around one in every hundred couples trying for a baby.

What does this guidance cover?

This guidance is intended to help managers provide appropriate practical and emotional support for an employee affected by pregnancy loss.

Although this guidance covers support for all pregnancy loss, please note that parents who lose a baby after 24 complete weeks of pregnancy are eligible for both the family leave schemes (maternity and paternity) and Parental Bereavement Leave.