Did you know that medically a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks is considered a miscarriage while loss after 24 weeks is considered a stillbirth? Thus, technically a miscarriage is not covered by maternity law. This means there are no maternity leave or benefits granted based on law but there may be other provisions made but these differ between companies.

In the UK, there have been several petitions and campaigns to reduce the 24 weeks mark. Why you may ask? Because a stillbirth is registered with a birth and death certificate. Implications are that a stillborn child is named and also buried. For losses before 24 weeks there are no records.

This issue has been contended in the UK House of Commons for a while and was recently addressed this February. Does your company’s policy cover these issues? Do share.