Campaigner Urges Government to Broaden Funeral Fund for All Baby Losses

A woman who became a specialist in baby bereavement after experiencing her own loss during pregnancy has appealed to the government for assistance in covering funeral expenses for all babies. Evie Mawdsley, a mortuary technician from Ripon, has gathered over 24,000 signatures on a petition advocating for the government to expand its Children’s Funeral Fund. The fund, which is not means tested, currently helps cover some funeral costs for a child under 18 or a baby stillborn after the 24th week of pregnancy, but Ms Mawdsley seeks its extension to include babies lost earlier. A government spokesperson stated: “While nothing can ever truly heal the pain of losing a child, this government will always ensure that all families are given the support they need.” Ms Mawdsley, who is employed at Rushton Family Funerals, decided to pursue bereavement specialization after losing one of her twins during pregnancy. In 2018, her twin baby, Beatrix, died, but Ms Mawdsley was required to continue the pregnancy because her other twin, Henry, was still alive. Her daughter passed away at 23 weeks, yet Ms Mawdsley remained eligible for the Children’s Funeral Fund due to the ongoing pregnancy. She mentioned that she was unaware of the available support at the time, which led her to arrange a direct cremation. The fund can contribute to burial fees, cremation fees, and the cost of a coffin, shroud, or casket. Having engaged with families who did not qualify for the funding, Ms Mawdsley remarked: “I want to make sure other parents get the opportunity to say goodbye no matter what gestation their baby has died at.” Ms Mawdsley characterized it as “appalling” that the fund did not offer support to families whose children were stillborn at less than 24 weeks of gestation. She commented: “We’ve had babies coming into our care that have very visibly looked like a baby and their families aren’t able to say a proper goodbye.“I think it completely invalidates that they’ve lost a baby.”I think it invalidates all of their grief.” Since initiating the petition, Ms Mawdsley reported receiving dozens of messages of support from bereaved parents, including Hayley Patrick-Copeland from North Duffield. Ms Patrick-Copeland experienced the loss of her identical twin daughters, Alya and Aleah, in 2022, at 24 weeks and three days of pregnancy. She stated that she was “blessed enough” to receive the necessary support but expressed concern that if her babies had died three days earlier, she would have received no assistance. She conveyed that it made her “really emotional” to be informed that “in some kind of respect your child doesn’t qualify for something or isn’t worthy on top of everything you’re going through”. Rowena Pailing is the head of bereavement support services for Sands, a charity that campaigns to save babies’ lives and support bereaved families. She said: “I think that if there is a cut-off date for any eligibility of service or for any kind of remuneration then it’s going to be really difficult for anybody who precedes that.“I think there is something about validation of experience and one of the things we hear from a lot of bereaved parents is that they want their baby, their child to be acknowledged.” She further added: “The vast majority of funeral directors are really supportive.“I would prioritise telling parents to speak to their local funeral directors about what’s possible.” Ms Mawdsley indicated that she had been in communication with MPs and hoped for a discussion to occur in Parliament. The government spokesperson stated: “The Children’s Funeral Fund was set up to alleviate the financial burden of parents who have lost a child stillborn at 24 weeks up until 18 years, and parents who suffer pre-24 week pregnancy loss can apply for a baby loss certificate to be able to officially recognise their existence.” Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.