Nearly four in five people who have lost a baby feel the advertising and media industry still has a long way to go when it comes to adequately supporting parents.
Research by UM in partnership with Mediatel News, professional women’s network Bloom UK and Stillbirth And Neo-Natal Death charity Sands, found 79% of industry staff are unsatisfied with existing policies for people who have experienced baby loss.
Meanwhile, almost nine out of ten (85%) feel the silence that surrounds miscarriage can be painful, while just over three-quarters (77%) believe there is still a stigma attached to it.
The research highlighted the role that line managers can play in helping staff who’ve suffered from miscarriage and stillbirth: half (51%) of women who’d lost a baby told their line managers, with only parents and friends more likely to be informed, while a similar number (50%) said that they’d felt well supported by their manager.
More than eight out of 10 parents in this situation (83%) struggled to concentrate on work afterwards, while two-thirds (68%) said they felt “disengaged” or “distracted”.
When asked how their line managers could help, those surveyed offered some suggestions:
- “Call to check in how you are doing. Take work off you and pass to colleagues to help give you time.”
- “Space and time away from work to come to terms with the loss.”
- “Know the resources that could help. Understand the situation. Remove pressure where possible.”
- “Point you to support resources and make sure there are people to cover your work to take time as you need.”
- “There is less understanding of the experience for men than there is for women. Women talk with each other. Men don’t talk at all. Men have to be there to support their partners through their grief, as well as deal with their own grief. There is often little or no space for male grief.”
UM and IPG Mediabrands have recently introduced two weeks’ paid leave for parents in the event of a miscarriage as well as signing up to the Miscarriage Association’s Workplace Pregnancy Loss Pledge.
Franky Farmer, strategy director at UM, said: “We need to take away the silence – and particularly the stigma – that still exists around losing a baby.
“One in four pregnancies end in a miscarriage, so this isn’t a rare event and shouldn’t be a taboo subject. Colleagues, and especially line managers, have a crucial role to play in offering support during such a traumatic time.”
Editor’s note: If some of the content in this article is triggering for any readers, please don’t suffer in silence. Help is available from various charities including The Miscarriage Association, Tommy’s and Sands.
