Health Secretary Yvette Cooper has issued a "profound apology" for the practice of burying stillborn babies in mass graves without informing parents, acknowledging the "unthinkable pain" caused to families.
The practice occurred between the 1930s and 1980s. During this period, hospitals took stillborn babies from mothers and buried them in communal graves. Parents often spent decades unaware of where their children had been buried.
Cooper's apology follows a campaign led by a Wirral woman and others affected by the practice. The Guardian reported the apology on October 14, 2026.
The practice represents a significant failure in how hospitals treated grieving parents during a period spanning five decades. Families were denied basic information about their babies' final resting places, compounding their loss with prolonged uncertainty.