Mum of stillborn baby calls for government apology

Gina Jacobs says mums were told to go home and get on with it after stillbirths in the past

A bereaved mother who found the grave of her baby son 53 years after he was stillborn is calling for an official apology for the practices of the past.

Gina Jacobs, from Wirral, Merseyside, said she wants the government to say sorry for what she describes as "lies, disrespect and a lack of dignity" towards mothers who suffered a loss.

Before the 1980s, stillborn babies were taken away from families who were not given any details of what happened to their babies or where they were buried.

For more than 50 years Mrs Jacobs carried the grief of not knowing the whereabouts of her stillborn baby son, until she finally found him almost two years ago.

Gina Jacobs finally found where her son was buried along with 61 other babies after more than 50 years

She found him at Landican cemetery in Birkenhead after watching a series on the issue on BBC North West Tonight.

The 79-year-old named him Robert and decided to share her story online.

Since then she’s gone on to help other bereaved mothers to find more than 60 babies at her local cemetery.

“So many people got in touch and I couldn’t refuse.

"I had to help. But there was so much joy in it.”

In March, Mrs Jacobs received the Wirral Award in recognition of her efforts.

It is a civil award intended to recognise individuals for an outstanding achievement.

“I felt the award was in honour of the babies and the families and the people who suffered so much through the arrangement of the time.

"The memory of those little precious faces has been stolen from us because we weren’t allowed to see them.”

Back then, it was the belief of medical professionals that it was in the best interests of the mother to keep them from seeing their babies, and knowing what happened to them afterwards.

“The mums were told to go home and get on with it.

"I mean, one lady was told ‘plenty more where those came from’.”

Margaret Greenwood MP is backing Mrs Jacobs calls for the government to say sorry for past practices

Now, she is hoping for an official apology which her MP, Margaret Greenwood, is supporting.

Earlier this month, the MP took the issue to the Commons, raising it at Prime Minster's Questions.

She asked Prime Minster Rishi Sunak whether he would apologise on behalf of all previous governments for the former practice which left grieving parents with nowhere to visit their buried children.

The Wirral West MP said she wanted to make sure Mrs Jacobs received national recognition for what she’s achieved.

“There wasn’t an apology but there was a good response. I think it was great that [the Prime Minister] paid tribute to her," the Labour MP said.

Mr Sunak said that "one of the most incredible things about doing his job was meeting people like Gina".

Mr Sunak said in response to the question: “She deserves nothing but our praise and admiration and I am so pleased that she has brought comfort to so many other people, too.”

The great, great grandmother never gave her baby boy a name until she finally found him in 2022, when she named him Robert.

“Robert was mentioned. His name was actually mentioned in the House of Commons. That meant so much to me.”

'Skirted around an apology'

She said she was pleased with the comments of the prime minster but that the issue of the apology was skirted around.

“It has to be, I think, our government to apologise for what happened with previous governments, which is someone to just say, ‘we’re sorry’," she said.

"‘We’re sorry that you all were put through that. Sorry for the lies, sorry for disrespect and for the lack of dignity.’ ”

Mrs Jacobs says she owes great thanks to the staff at Landican cemetery who have responded to her every request to access the public records and find more babies, which she continues to do.

Her story is just one of many remarkable stories of lasting grief and loss, and of long awaited closure.

She believes the word she awaits could have the power to heal.

BBC Action Line

If you or someone you know has been affected by issues with pregnancy, these organisations may be able to help.