A Labour MP broke down and moved the Commons to tears today as she told of her heartbreak at learning her stillborn baby did not ‘officially exist’ as she was born before 24 weeks.
Sharon Hodgson choked back tears as she told of the loss of her third child Lucy 20 years ago – a tragedy she rarely talks about.
Mrs Hodgson said that as she sat with her stillborn daughter in the hospital she was told her baby would not get a birth or death certificate as she was born at 23.5 weeks – days shy of the cut off.
She was left ‘horrified and further traumatised’ at the news which meant her little girl – whose heart had beat through most of the labour – did not ‘officially exist’.
Mrs Hodgson, 51, a mother-of-two, welled up with emotion and MPs sitting nearby dabbed tears from their eyes as they heard her recall her anguish at the loss.
She said she had stayed away from previous debates about baby loss as she was ‘too scared’ about getting overwhelmed with emotion at her loss 20 years ago.
The MP for Washington and Sunderland West said: ‘I never felt brave enough or strong enough to do what they did – and I still find it very difficult even now all these years later to even talk about it.’
Sharon Hodgson’s voice cracked with emotion and she paused several times during her speech as she told of the loss of he third child Lucy, who was born at 23.5 weeks but was stillborn
The Labour MP moved others to tears as she told of her heart break in Commons today
Mrs Hodgson said she wanted to speak out to support a change in the law which would see stillborn babies born before 24 weeks registered despite knowing she would ‘end up in floods of tears’.
She said Lucy’s death ‘was the worst thing I have ever had to experience in my life’.
Recalling the stillbirth of her daughter Lucy, she said that because she died she was effectively denied an identity – but if she had survived the final push things would have been very different.
She said: ‘She would have had a birth certificate, she would have been celebrating her 20th birthday this year.
‘But sadly she was stillborn so there was no flashing blue lights, no incubator and no birthday parties eve.
‘And, as I found out to my horror, no birth or death certificate.
‘So as I held her in my arms and had to come to terms with what just happened, I also had to come to terms with the fact she officially did not exist and I would not be getting any certificate of her arrival or death.
‘She was three to four days short of the required 24-week legal age.’
Mrs Hodgson, who was choking back tears throughout, said she rarely speaks about the tragedy which happened two decades ago.
She described how Lucy was given a lovely blessing by the chaplain.
She said: ‘We named her Lucy during the blessing and we spent a number of hours with her before she was taken to the chapel of rest.
‘We had a very small family service…She was buried in a tiny white coffin in the same grave as my nana and granddad.
‘I tell you all this to highlight that to the chaplain, the funeral service, to us, her family, she existed.
‘She was a baby who was sadly born dead.
‘Her heart beated throughout my labour just up until minutes before she was born. She just couldn’t make the final push into this world.
‘Because of that and because of a matter of a few days, she doesn’t officially exist in any records other than in our memories and own family records.
‘Even the entry on the deeds for the grave is in my name as if I, or in this case a bit of me, is buried there.’
Labour’s Barbara Keeley said: ‘It’s very clear Lucy does exist she does exist n your memories.’
And she praised the MP’s ‘bravery’ in speaking about her loss.
The emotional scenes emerged as MPs debated a new Bill which would introduce a system which would see stillborns before 24 weeks officially registered.
The Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration Etc.) Bill would give coroners the power to investigate late stage stillbirths.
Tory MP Will Quince, who has also suffered the loss of a stillborn baby, intervened to allow Ms Hodgson a chance to compose herself during her ‘brave and powerful’ speech.
He said: ‘Bereaved parents, all of us, want to ensure our child’s life – however short – has meaning.
‘She is absolutely doing that. If she doesn’t mind me saying, Lucy would be very proud of her mummy today.’
Sharon Hodgson said she wanted to make the speech to support the law changes despite knowing she would ‘end up in floods of tears’.
Sharon Hodgson (pictured in Parliament today) told of her ‘horror’ at learning her daughter did not ‘officially exist’ and was given no birth or death certificate because she was born a few days shy of the 24 week cut off
The Bill, which was proposed by Tory former minister Tim Loughton, would also allow heterosexual couples to have civil partnerships.
Under current laws only single-sex couples can have a civil partnership – which gives couples the same legal rights as married couples.
But now they can also get married after the law was changed.
Mr Loughton said many straight couples want the opportunity to seal their love with a civil partnership but do not want to get married.
He says the current discrepancy is discriminatory.
Home Office minister Victoria Atkins said the Government ‘agrees wholeheartedly’ with the need to look at the role coroners could play in investigating stillbirths.
She said: ‘The Government thinks that carrying out a review and producing a report in this area is important before making any changes.
‘There are important and sensitive issues to explore, such as how far into a pregnancy coronial involvement should be triggered and the potential role of other factors such a violence to the mother or medical negligence.’
The Bill passed its second reading, but will have to return to Parliament to be debated again before it becomes law.