Hundreds of thousands of employees are impacted by pregnancy loss per year - one estimate suggests that there are around 250,000 pregnancy losses caused by miscarriages alone in the UK each year, with a further 12,000 impacted by loss due to ectopic pregnancies. 

The measures will give those experiencing pregnancy loss at any stage the legal right to take time off work to grieve. Until now, statutory Parental Bereavement Leave has only been available to parents who lose a child under 18 or experience stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. 

The move follows a hard-fought campaign by MP Sarah Owen, as chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, with the Government agreeing to bring forward an amendment in the House of Lords.  

Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: ‘For many families including mine that have been affected by pregnancy loss, the decision around returning to work or taking sick leave to grieve properly can make an already painful experience even more difficult.

‘Grief doesn't follow a timetable, and expanding rights to leave for pregnancy loss will ensure every family gets the time they need to heal without worrying about their job.'

Sarah Owen MP, chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, said: ‘It is a bold and necessary move from this Government to see the UK become one of only a handful of countries in the world to recognise pregnancy loss as a bereavement and give workers the right to take time off to grieve. 

‘Nothing will ever take away the pain of losing a pregnancy, but this law change will provide workers with the security of time to grieve and help end the stigma of miscarriage for good.'