Celia Hammond (Curtin, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Werriwa for moving this motion and I acknowledge her grief. Losing a child is the ultimate tragedy. It is the worst possible grief—beyond reckoning—and it doesn't end. Pregnancy and infant loss touch so many Australians. Each year one in four pregnancies end in a miscarriage and one in six pregnancies end in a stillbirth. This means that nearly every Australian has been touched by the loss of a baby, either indirectly or directly.

On 17 February this year a motion was passed in this place for 15 October to be officially and eternally recognised as International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. Official recognition of International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day in Australia acknowledges the loss and ongoing grief that those impacted by pregnancy and infant loss endure. It was an honour to attend the memorial service at the King Edward Memorial Hospital's rose garden last Friday to take time to remember the babies that have died due to miscarriage or stillbirth. The day provided these families with the knowledge that they are not alone and that there is support for them in the Australian community. It was a day on which parents, families and friends memorialised babies lost through infant death, stillbirth or miscarriage. There are more than 40,000 babies memorialised in the rose garden.

To acknowledge the tragedy of losing a baby, the government is investing $152 million in perinatal services and support measures to improve health outcomes for mothers and babies. This forms part of Australia's broader commitment to the National Stillbirth Action and Implementation Plan, which the federal government released last year. The plan aims to reduce stillbirth rates in Australia by 20 per cent or more in the next five years. This government also recognises that preterm birth is a cause of infant loss and has committed $13 million to implement the Australian Preterm Birth Prevention Alliance nationally to reduce the rate of preterm birth in Australia. I note and commend Professor John Newnham and his team, who lead this national program out of my electorate.

There has also been $21 million committed for specific actions to target women at increased risk of stillbirth, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. The government is working closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to design stillbirth prevention messages that resonate with these population groups.

Bereaved parents often suffer in silence, which is why the government is investing in ongoing support for the wellbeing of parents, including $43 million towards the Perinatal Mental Health and Wellbeing Program, which includes support for families experiencing grief following the death of a child.

To provide intensive support to families experiencing stillbirth, the government is working with Red Nose to fund the Hospital to Home program. The government is dedicated to working closely with other non-government organisations like the Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth and the Australian Preterm Birth Prevention Alliance to help reach as many families as we can. The government is proud to be working with a wide range of organisations and is committed to improving the health of mothers and babies to reduce the devastation of pregnancy and infant loss.

The formal recognition of 15 October as International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day gives us all the opportunity to acknowledge the loss and ongoing grief that those impacted by pregnancy and infant loss endure. In closing, I want to recognise and thank a dedicated and inspiring WA couple, John and Kate De'Laney, for their work in relation to pregnancy and infant loss and on having this day officially recognised. Mr and Mrs De'Laney lost seven babies by miscarriage. After losing their first baby, the De'Laneys didn't know where to turn, who to talk to or where to get support. Over time, and by supporting each other, they discovered that the loss of a baby is not something that you get over; you just have to find a way of integrating it into your life. Since that time, John and Kate have dedicated themselves to raising awareness of the issue of pregnancy and infant loss to ensure that no-one ever feels as alone and unsupported as they did on the day they lost their first child. They do this with one of their eight children, beautiful Mary-Jane, who has now, deservedly, had her name noted and recognised in Hansard numerous times, both here in Canberra and back home in Western Australia.

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