To the House of Commons 

*This petition was first launched in 2020 following the loss of my daughter, Maya. Although years have passed, families continue to experience the heartbreak of stillbirth every day. I am relaunching this campaign because I believe more can still be done to improve maternity care and prevent avoidable baby deaths.*

I created this petition in memory of my stillborn daughter, Maya Iwona Sheldon, and in memory of every baby whose life ended too soon.

Around 1 in every 250 babies in the UK are stillborn, leaving thousands of families devastated every year. My daughter was stillborn at 28 weeks. After her death, we discovered she had an umbilical cord abnormality. Had it been identified earlier, her pregnancy could have been monitored more closely and she may have had the chance to survive.

For many women, the routine 20-week anomaly scan is the last ultrasound they receive unless they are considered high risk. However, many serious pregnancy complications develop after 20 weeks and cannot always be detected at the routine anomaly scan.

I am calling on the Government to review national maternity guidelines and introduce improved access to ultrasound scans during the second half of pregnancy by:

Providing additional routine ultrasound scans later in pregnancy where clinically appropriate.
Giving pregnant women the right to request an ultrasound assessment if they genuinely feel something is wrong with their baby, even if they are not classed as high risk.
Ensuring that maternal concerns are taken seriously and investigated promptly, rather than being dismissed without appropriate assessment.
No mother knows her baby better than she does. While not every concern will reveal a serious complication, every concern deserves to be taken seriously. Earlier identification of problems can allow closer monitoring and, where necessary, earlier delivery, giving babies the best possible chance of survival.

Too often, families only receive additional monitoring after suffering the unimaginable loss of a baby. We should not have to lose a child before receiving the care that could help prevent another tragedy.

My daughter cannot be brought back, but if these changes save even one baby’s life and spare one family the lifelong pain of stillbirth, then Maya’s legacy will live on.

Please sign this petition in memory of Maya and every baby lost to stillbirth, and help improve maternity care so that more babies can make it home safely.