In Parliament this week, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley pledged to improve maternity services in the UK in several welcome ways.  First, he has called for a midwife to be assigned to each pregnant woman for the duration of her pregnancy, and one-on-one care during labor.  He also pledged to provide additional, specialized education to health visitors (who do at-home visits after birth) to help them recognize the early signs of post-partum depression.

The government has allotted four-hundred million pounds to psychological therapy to help women who are identified as needed help with post-partum depression.

Lansley also revealed a ground-breaking plan to make the National Health Service accountable for the care it gives to families going through miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant death.  Parents will be asked to rate their care in order to help practitioners improve their care.

Already, opinion articles and bloggers are expressing concern about the government's ability to deliver on these promises, but with 5,000 new midwives currently in training, I think it's fair to say that the women of the UK are going to experience significant improvements in their pregnancy care.  I will be interested to see if measurable improvements in patient satisfaction and outcomes result from these initiatives.  We probably won't be able to get any significant statistics from these moves for several years.

I hope other countries follow Britain's lead in focusing on the needs of women and their families going through pregnancy loss, and post-partum depression.

More on Post-Partum Depression:
Can Women Have Post-Partum Depression After a Miscarriage?
Is It Time to Get Professional Help?
Readers Respond:  Depression After Miscarriage

_{Photo © Gary Yeowell / Getty Images}

After 5 miscarriages, Zoe and Andy Clark-Coates, of England, know all too well the heartbreak and isolation of early pregnancy loss.  In an article in The Guardian, Zoe describes the pain of each miscarriage as "suffocating."  Though the couple has gone on to have two living daughters, they still grieve for their five children who didn't make it to a live birth.  The Clark-Coates have been frustrated by the lack of any public acknowledgment available to them.

They felt they had to do something to help other grieving parents like themselves to find some sense of closure.  The result of that desire is their project, Saying Goodbye.  Working with The Miscarriage Associate, they've managed to schedule special services at many cathedrals throughout Britain for parents to gather and say their own goodbyes to babies lost to miscarriage and stillbirth.

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To all of my readers who are facing their first Mothers' Day after a pregnancy loss:  I am so sorry for your loss, and I hope you find comfort and support from the special people in your life.

To those of you who will celebrate Mothers' Day with your living children:  I hope the joy you find in your sons or daughters helps you remember your children who have died with gratitude and bittersweetness.

To those of you not sure if you can call yourself a mother with no children in your arms:  If you feel like a mother, you are a mother.

To those of you who don't want the title of mother:  I honor your choice and hope you find peace.

May all of you pass this holiday with good friends and family who offer you exactly what you need, whether that is a shoulder to cry on, a hand to hold, a distracting getaway, or a joyful celebration of memory.

Happy Mothers' Day.

_{Photo © American Images, Inc. / Getty Images}

As I've done in previous months, I'd like to bring attention to some of the wonderful organizations holding awareness events for the month of May.  Every month when I look into the national recognition days/weeks/months, I am amazed by how many affect my readers.  Pregnancy Loss seems like an isolated topic, but when you investigate the many types of loss that affect women, and the many causes of miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant death, you can't help seeing how many organizations can actually help reduce the number of babies lost to miscarriage and other kinds of pregnancy loss.

May is Hepatitis Awareness Month.  Although only Hepatitis E has a high mortality rate for mothers and infants, other types of hepatitis can be passed from mother to infant, result in chronic infection, and acute infection may cause preterm labor in the third trimester.  To learn more, check out the Hepatitis Foundation International website.  The 19th is also Hepatitis Testing Day, sponsored by the CDC.

Lupus Awareness Month also happens this month.  Women with Lupus Erythematosus are at risk for miscarriage, preeclampsia, premature birth, and antiphospholipid antibodies.  The Lupus Foundation of America has information about events during May.

This month also brings us Mental Health Awareness month.  With the American Psychology Association considering adding grief as a mental disorder to the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, mental health is of greater concern than ever to parents whose baby has died.  Even before that though, grieving parents have always been at risk for developing depression and anxiety, with long-term effects.  To learn more about this awareness month, please check out Mental Health America.

Several organizations are also supporting general health this month.  It's Mediterranean Diet Month, which has already been associated with a reduced chance of anencephaly.  It's also National High Blood Pressure Education Month, brought to us by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.  High blood pressure is a major risk to all pregnant women, and can lead to many complications including miscarriage and stillbirth. National Physical Fitness and Sports Month reminds us that getting active is one of the simplest ways to improve our general health and maintain an ideal body weight.

National Women's Health Week and National Women's Check-up Day encourages all of us to get the preventative care we need to detect and control chronic conditions as best we can.  Women with chronic illnesses can be at risk for pregnancy loss, and one of the best ways to reduce that risk is to keep those conditions in the best possible control.

Finally, the World Health Organization brings us World No Tobacco Day on May 31st this year.  Tobacco is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and one of the few preventable causes of pregnancy loss.  Women who smoke during pregnancy are at risk for a host of complications, from high blood pressure to preterm delivery, miscarriage, stillbirth, and small birth weight infants.  This year, make May 31st your first tobacco free day!

To learn more about these or any of the other awareness events for May, check out this helpful list.