Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Throughout my career as a paediatrician, I have seen firsthand the experiences of parents and parents-to-be and how varied those experiences can be. Some people are lucky enough to have a baby that is happy, safe, thriving. Others are not so fortunate. For some, the hope and expectation of the impending delivery are dashed when things go terribly wrong. For those who suffer infant loss, either in pregnancy or soon after, the physical and emotional tolls are painful and traumatic.

In Australia these experiences are, unfortunately, all too common, experienced by 150,000 women each year, of which 147,000 are miscarriages. There are 1,750 stillbirths each year. That's six families affected each and every day. Each year, 850 babies die in the first 28 days after birth. Sadly, each year, three out of every 1,000 babies born in Australia die before they reach 12 months of age. What's more, the deep and ongoing emotional effects bought on by these tragic events are often underestimated and overlooked. They include depression, anxiety, changes in relationships, development of unhealthy coping strategies and post-traumatic stress disorders.

While the subsequent grief associated with pregnancy and infancy loss is common, it is often a private grief. Between my third and fourth child, I experienced a miscarriage. The loss was devastating. As I highlighted in my first speech, words like 'widow' and 'orphan' describe loss, but there are no words to describe the loss of an infant. Every parent has the right to hope for a child, and we must undertake every effort to ensure that our systems provide compassionate, individualised and skilled levels of support both during and after loss.

Tomorrow, 15 October, is international Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. It marks an official occasion to acknowledge that pregnancy and infant loss is a shared loss. Together we take the opportunity to promote greater awareness, remembrance and support of the individuals, families and communities that are affected irrevocably by these terrible losses. Whilst this is the month when we talk about our great losses, I'm also optimistic about the great strides in research into transformative technologies that help prevent infant loss—therapies that help to ensure premature babies actually survive and don't just survive but thrive.

The Morrison government recognise the devastation that pregnancy and infant loss has on families, and that is why we are taking pragmatic steps to invest in supporting these families throughout our $52 million perinatal service and support package. This investment includes $43 million for a new perinatal mental health program to support the mental health of expectant and new parents in Australia and provide support for families experiencing grief following stillbirth, miscarriage or infant death. Further, it includes a $7 million investment for stillbirth measures, including a stillbirth education and awareness program, research to minimise preventable stillbirth and investment in the Safer Baby Bundle project, a new initiative to reduce Australia's high rate of stillbirth. Lastly, the investment will provide an improved and targeted intensive support service for families during the vulnerable and challenging period following miscarriage and stillbirth. Additionally, the government has also tabled its response to the report of the 2018 Senate Select Committee on Stillbirth Research and Education and has agreed in principle to all recommendations made by the committee, including to the development of a national stillbirth action plan to reduce the rate of stillbirth and to improve quality of care in relation to stillbirth.

Those affected by pregnancy and infant loss should not suffer alone. Today, we pause to remember the babies that have been lost. Every day we should work towards a future where this burden is reduced and all Australians are afforded the support they require, particularly when they are at their most vulnerable. I commend to the House the member for Werriwa's private members' motion.

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