Sheffield Hallam MP opens up about her miscarriage during the Covid-19 pandemic
Olivia Blake wants all families in the UK to receive the same level of support if they experience baby loss
The Labour MP for Sheffield Hallam - who campaigns to raise awareness of baby loss -has written to the Secretary of State this week to request a meeting on 'miscarriage care'.
Olivia Blake's spoken to us about her experience of losing a child whilst she was pregnant during the Covid-19 pandemic.
She says while some women receive incredible care - it's not standard across the country:
"At the moment with have a very 'patchwork quilt' of support across the country.
"There are some services available 24/7, there are others that have dedicated early pregnancy units, while there are others that don't have these services.
"This can lead to GP's having to pick these sorts of things up, which means we have a situation where women can be waiting weeks for some kind of intervention.
"When I had my experience during the pandemic, I just went straight back to work and thought I'd be fine, which was quite naive of me.
"It was only a few months later that I had to reach out and get some more mental health support because I wasn't coping.
"Partners should be respected as well in this process, because all too often they can be forgotten in this conversation.
"As many as 1 in 4 pregnancies will end in miscarriage. I would like to see much more ambitious support put in place to help those affected by baby loss having spoken to my constituents.
"I've spoken in Parliament about my own experiences too. I'm very keen to see more 'hubs' set up to support people going through this."
You can find out more about what baby loss support is available locally on the link below: