Parents who lose a baby before it reaches 24 weeks will be able to receive a certificate from later this year.
Health Minister Lawrie Hooper said Maternity Services has established a formal application process for acknowledging the loss of a baby.
The framework and pathway enables families to electronically request a baby loss certificate before 24 weeks and will be offered to either parent backdated to September 1 2018.
The electronic application will feature on the Maternity webpage and it will require parent(s) NHS number or postcode, their phone number or email address, permission from the other parent and their email address if they would like both names on the certificate.
Mr Hooper said: “If families have lost more than one pregnancy they are able to request a separate certificate.
“Rigorous testing of the pathway is due to take place over the next couple of weeks to ensure the process is delivered with care. We anticipate the ‘go live’ date to be November 2024.
“The Care Group is working closely with the General Registries and Government Communication Service to devise the baby loss certificate. A considerate amount of effort is going into the design of the certificate as we recognise the emotional weight it carries for grieving parents.”
He also thanked Sarah Maltby (Douglas South) for her continued interest in the development of the system.
To request a certificate all of the following must apply:
- Family lost a baby before 24 weeks of pregnancy
- One of the applicants is the baby’s parent or surrogate
- Parent is at least 16 years old
- Pregnancy ended on or after 1 September 2018
- Parent lived in Isle of Man when they lost their baby
- Parent lives in the Isle of Man
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