A child bereavement campaigner in Ripon is calling for equal funding for funerals

A woman who became a bereavement specialist after losing a baby during pregnancy has called on the government to help cover the funeral costs of all children.

Mortuary technician Evie Mawdsley, from Ripon, has collected more than 24,000 signatures on a petition demanding the Government extend the children’s funeral fund.

The fund currently helps cover some funeral costs for babies, including babies who are stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy, but Mrs Mawdsley wants it to also cover babies lost earlier.

A government spokesman said: “While nothing can truly heal the pain of losing a child, this government will always make sure all families have the support they need.”

Mrs Mawdsley, who works at Rushton Family Funerals, decided to become a bereavement specialist after losing one of her twins during pregnancy.

In 2018, one of her twin children, Beatrix, died, but she had to continue the pregnancy because twin Henry was still alive.

Although her daughter died at 34 weeks of pregnancy and was eligible for the Children’s Funeral Fund, she was unaware of the support available, so she arranged for a direct cremation.

After speaking to families who were not eligible for funding, she said: “I want to make sure other parents have the opportunity to say goodbye, no matter how late in their pregnancy their child died.”

The Children’s Funeral Fund is available to every child born between 24 weeks and 18 years of age.

This is not income-tested and can help pay for burial, cremation and coffin, shroud or coffin costs.

Ms Mawdsley said it was “appalling” that the trust did not provide support to families of babies who were stillborn before 24 weeks of pregnancy.

She said: “We have had children come into our care who looked very much like a baby, and their families were unable to say a proper goodbye.

“I think it completely invalidates the fact that they lost a child.

“I think it invalidates all their sadness.”

• If the issues described in this story apply to you, help and support is available through BBC Action Line.

Since launching the petition, Ms Mawdsley said she has received dozens of messages of support from grieving parents, including Hayley Patrick-Copeland, from North Duffield.

Ms Patrick-Copeland lost her identical twin daughters Alya and Aleah in 2022, at 24 weeks and three days of pregnancy.

She said she was “blessed enough” to receive the support she needed, but feared that if her children had died three days earlier, she would not have received any support.

She said she was “very touched” to hear that “in some way, your child is not eligible for something or not worthy, considering everything you are going through.”

Rowena Pailing is head of bereavement support at the charity Sands, which campaigns to save children’s lives and support bereaved families.

She said: “I think if there is a final date for eligibility for service or receiving any pay, it will be really difficult for anyone leading up to it.

“I think there’s something about validating experience, and one of the things we hear from a lot of bereaved parents is that they want their child, their child, to be acknowledged.”

She added: “The vast majority of funeral directors are really supportive.

“Our first priority would be to tell parents to talk to their local funeral homes about what is possible.”

Ms Mawdsley said she had been in contact with MPs and hoped the discussion would take place in Parliament.

A Government spokesman said: ‘The Children’s Burial Fund has been set up to ease the financial burden on parents who have lost a stillborn baby at 24 weeks up to the age of 18, and parents who have experienced a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks can claim compensation from certificate for the loss of a child in order to officially recognize their existence.”

Listen to the most important moments from North Yorkshire on BBC Soundskeep up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us the story you think of we should hide here.