Breaking the silence on pregnancy loss at work

“Take as much time as you need.” It's what many of us would say to a colleague after a pregnancy loss. But, University of Essex researchers have found that kind words alone are not enough, and that workplaces need proper policies, training and support.

To mark Baby Loss Awareness Week (9 to 15 October), researchers at Essex Business School are highlighting a free online toolkit they have developed to help organisations support staff through early pregnancy endings - defined as pregnancies that conclude before 24 weeks of gestation.

The research team say too often, people feel they have to go through this experience in silence. This is especially true in those early weeks of pregnancy, when healthcare support and dedicated leave entitlements are currently limited.

From April 2027, changes introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025 will give employees a new day-one right to up to two weeks of unpaid bereavement leave following a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, including for partners.

The toolkit offers organisations a way to prepare managers and staff ahead of the change. It gives employers of every size a baseline understanding of pregnancy endings and how colleagues can support one another at work.

It aims to create workplaces where nobody feels they must hide what they're going through for fear of discrimination, stigma or harm to their career.

Professor Ilaria Boncori, from Essex Business School at the University of Essex, said: “Our research shows that pregnancy endings are both an individual and workplace issue, which is often ignored and stigmatised.

“Organisations need better and more consistent policies, training and awareness, and to provide targeted support that improves employees' wellbeing and performance and reduces turnover at work.”

Research led by Professor Boncori over the past ten years, in collaboration with industry partners and charities, has found that although pregnancy endings are very common, affecting one in four or five pregnancies, businesses rarely recognise them as an organisational issue that affects both individuals and the workplace.

The research found that line managers need training, and that staff need support with the emotional, psychological and physical impacts of pregnancy endings, which can affect their wellbeing and performance at work.

The toolkit is free, can be completed at your own pace, and includes a certificate of completion.