Actor Kym Marsh celebrates every year the birthday of her son Archie, who died in 2009 after just 21 weeks of pregnancy.
She held her son in her arms and held a funeral for him. Now her family remembers him at Christmas, and her 13-year-old daughter, who was born after his death, knows all about him.
But Marsh had no official government certification proving his loss.
Now she can apply for one as part of an expanded scheme for parents in England who have lost a baby during pregnancy.
In the UK, an estimated 250,000 pregnancies end in miscarriage at 24 weeks each year, with approximately one in five women experiencing a miscarriage.
“These certificates mean a lot. It makes your child more than just a statistic,” Marsh told BBC Breakfast.
“He means so much to all of us, and for us to not get any recognition that he’s here is absolutely heartbreaking because he’s a little guy and a little guy for us.”
“We are very happy,” she said of the new certificate. “This is a huge win for all of us.”
The government has launched February Certificate Course For parents who have experienced the loss of a baby since September 2018, the system will not be overwhelmed.
Already have it now Open your heart to more parents. If the pregnancy ends before 24 weeks, parents can obtain a commemorative baby certificate. They can also obtain this information for pregnancies ending within 28 weeks before October 1, 1992.
Women and campaigners told the BBC how important the certificates are to millions of people who have suffered hidden losses.
Charley Day, whose son Rory died in July 11 weeks into her pregnancy, received one of more than 50,000 certificates issued since February.
She told BBC Breakfast the paper “changed the whole grieving process”.
“For us, this is incredible – our baby’s life has been recognized,” she said.
Others said they would file after waiting years for their losses to be confirmed.
Baroness Floela Benjamin, who campaigned for certificates in the House of Lords, said she would apply for the three babies she had lost – the first 40 years ago.
“I think of them every time I talk about a certain time of year,” she told BBC Breakfast.
“Sorrow never leaves you.”
Baroness Benjamin said the certificates were important not just for women but for men as she and her husband “used to cry together when I went through loss”.
She remembers that, as the host of a children’s television show, she had to put on a smiley face but feel sad inside.
Forty years ago, she said, she tried to make a show about losing a baby but “no one wanted to know and it was a taboo subject, even though I knew millions of other women like me had gone through it or were going through it.” ”.
Zoe Clark-Coates, who has lost five children, also said she would now apply for the certificates after spending almost 10 years campaigning for others.
The founder of the Say Goodbye charity began advocating for the certificates after hearing from parents that it would help ease their grief.
She told BBC Breakfast: “A lot of people who experience the loss of a baby don’t realize, don’t acknowledge that their child exists.”
“They want to preserve something in the family record so that future generations can see that their children were here, even if they didn’t stay.”
She added on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “This is a really crucial moment for people, whether they lost a baby yesterday or 80 years ago, they can finally apply for a certificate.”
Marsh, who is still mourning her son Archie, said an official physical record is “an important part of the grieving process”, making the loss more real and helping you acknowledge and accept it.
“Because he is our child, he is just as important as the children who are lucky enough to be here,” she said.
“A loss is a loss, they are our children.”
