In a bid to tackle the taboo subject, New Zealand’s parliament will be considering a bill legislating three days’ paid bereavement leave for women and their partners.
Labour sponsoring the bill, MP Ginny Andersen, said paid leave to grieve for the loss of a baby – at any stage of the pregnancy – would bring what is still very much a taboo subject into the open. The proposed bill also covers those who experience stillbirths.
At present, New Zealanders are entitled to bereavement leave after the loss of a family member or child but that does not include the loss of a child who is not born alive.
One or two out of every 10 pregnant women will miscarry a baby, a statistic that shows how common this pregnancy-related health issue is.
Andersen explained that the lack of clarity in the New Zealand law often resulted in women having to argue with their employers over getting leave to grieve their loss. She went on to say, “A lot of women have had more than one miscarriage and it can be very traumatic and difficult if you are trying to hold down a job.”
Anyone who “confirmed pregnancy”, according to Anderson, would be entitled to the leave, but there would likely need to be some discussion over how a pregnancy would be confirmed. Once it was confirmed, a miscarriage at any stage of the pregnancy would be eligible for the bereavement leave.
Iain Lees-Galloway, the minister for workplace relations and safety, said he would support the bill and that it reflected the government’s “compassionate, people-centred and progressive approach” to politics.
Anderson said she expected a lot of support from other MPs, from various parties, for the bill. “A lot of people are saying this is a very sensible idea, and we want to take the politics out of this one and have the whole house support it.”
Kathryn van Beek, who approached several MPs to sponsor the bill, had a miscarriage two years ago. Afterwards, she discovered many New Zealand women had struggled to get time off to grieve and process their loss.
New Zealand is not the first country in the world to progress legislation for miscarriage leave. Indian law stipulates women are entitled to six weeks’ leave if they miscarry a baby, but because the vast majority of employees engage in informal work few are able to access it.
Some other countries have provisions for paid leave if a woman gives birth to a stillborn baby. In the Canadian province of Ontario if a woman loses a baby 17 weeks or less before her due date she is entitled to 17 weeks of unpaid pregnancy leave. In the UK a miscarriage before the end of the 24th week of pregnancy does not qualify for bereavement leave, but a stillborn child born after this date means the mother is entitled to maternity leave and associated pay.
