Baby Loss

Nadia Whittome Excerpts

Monday 13th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Nadia Whittome (Nottingham East) (Lab)]

I start by thanking Members for bringing this important debate and thanking those who have spoken so bravely about their own experiences of loss and harm. No matter how a baby dies or a wanted pregnancy ends, it is always deeply painful and traumatic for bereaved families, but their suffering is particularly exacerbated when the loss of a baby could have been prevented. I have constituents who tragically know that only too well.

Our city is at the centre of the largest maternity inquiry in NHS history and a corporate manslaughter investigation due to failings by Nottingham University Hospitals that have led to hundreds of baby deaths and injuries—hundreds of preventable tragedies. Many families are still waiting for answers. Many have faced contemptuous treatment, not just at the time of the loss or injury of their baby, but in the aftermath. These families have been institutionally gaslit, lied to and robbed of so much, and they are still having to fight for their children. Some have also faced abhorrent racism.

I pay tribute to the Nottingham affected families group for their unwavering determination to secure accountability and change. It is because of their tenacity that the review is happening at all. It has been a privilege to work with them, and I have been deeply moved by their strength and selflessness in fighting not only for their own families, but for others, in the face of such appalling institutional failures and systematic neglect. I also thank Donna Ockenden for agreeing to lead the review and for all her work so far—I am so grateful that families in Nottingham have such a champion fighting their corner.

Above all, there must be accountability for this scandal, and lessons must be learned so that no family has to go through such an avoidable tragedy again. While standards of care at NUH under new leadership have improved, they are still falling short, and further action must be taken to ensure that parents and babies receive the care that they deserve.

I welcome the Government’s launch of a national maternity investigation to examine maternity and neonatal services across England. This rapid review will consolidate previous inquiries’ findings and recommendations, with the aim of improving the quality and safety of maternity care. However, I am concerned that families in Nottingham do not feel that they were included in the meaningful way they were promised, and the Government must not simply wait for the outcome of this investigation before taking action. I am certain that the Secretary of State will act on that, and I thank him for his ongoing genuine commitment to this.

The Nottingham affected families group has been calling for the 22 national recommendations from the Shrewsbury and Telford Ockenden review to be implemented without delay. The families also want the role of oversight bodies, which are meant to hold trusts and healthcare professionals to account, to be scrutinised. The CQC must become a more visible organisation and it must be able to bring prosecutions more than three years after the offence occurred; the current limit is far too short, and it is denying people even a semblance of justice.

There is so much more to say, but in the last few seconds I want to pay tribute to charities in Nottingham founded by bereaved parents, particularly Zephyr’s and Forever Stars. These organisations are already doing the work of supporting grieving families, but they are operating on shoestring budgets and generally do not receive statutory funding. We need to see that change. We need to see statutory funding increase and for those allocating it to recognise that these charities are best placed to provide those services, as they have already built relationships of trust within our communities.