We are pleased to announce the launch of the National Bereavement Care Pathway (NBCP) for Pregnancy & Baby Loss in Scotland today.

At the heart of the project is the vision to increase the quality of bereavement care received by bereaved parents and families.

By working collaboratively together, the NBCP aims to see improvements and to ensure that quality and compassionate care is provided for parents and their families, when they are given the devastating news that their baby has died.

Five NHS boards in Scotland will be piloting the NBCP Pathway across their units and services in hospitals and in the community. They are NHS Ayrshire & Arran, NHS Dumfries & Galloway, NHS Fife, NHS Grampian and NHS Lothian.

The project has been funded and developed by the Scottish Government. It has been delivered in partnership with us and in collaboration with other baby loss charities and Royal Colleges.

Kate Mulley, Director of Research, Education and Policy at Sands and Chair of the NBCP Scotland Core Group said: “I am delighted that we are launching the NBCP in Scotland today. This launch is the culmination of a great amount of hard work and dedication by our partner organisations and the determination of many bereaved parents and families who have lobbied for improvements in bereavement care.

“We are very grateful to the Scottish Government for their funding of the project and we look forward to seeing its impact reported positively through the evaluation.” 

The NBCP in Scotland provides dedicated pathways that are designed for all healthcare professionals and staff who are involved in the care of women, partners and families at all stages of pregnancy and baby loss.

The pathways are:

• Miscarriage, Ectopic and Molar Pregnancy
• Termination of Pregnancy for Fetal Anomaly (TOPFA)
• Stillbirth
• Neonatal Death
• Sudden and Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) up to 24 months. 

NBCP Scotland aims to put the voice of women and men affected by pregnancy and baby loss at the heart of our work through our Advisory Group.

Find out more about the NBCP Advisory Group here.

The project is independently evaluated by Fiveways, a research organisation experienced in evaluating charity projects, as evidenced in the NBCP England report published in May 2019.

For further information, visit the new NBCP Scotland website here.