A woman who suffered six miscarriages has said the response from employers ranged from empathy to pressure to return to work.
Jennifer Duggan, chair of the Miscarriage Association of Ireland, said she felt like she needed to “suck it up, be fine and get on with it” when she did go back to work.
She said legislation providing for leave during pregnancy loss would mean people have space to both recover physically and “time to grieve”.
The Labour Party argues there has been “no progress” on the issue of pregnancy loss leave since it tabled a Bill on the topic in 2021.
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The Government said it is committed to introducing such measures in legislation that is to be drafted as a “priority”.
Ms Duggan, from Co Cork, said she and her husband Padraig decided to start a family in 2008 and she became pregnant. However, she said, “our world fell from under us when we went for our scan at 13 weeks to be told: ‘I’m so sorry, but there is no heartbeat.’”
She was working in retail at the time, and her doctor signed her off on sick leave. However, she said she had “stress and anxiety” when getting calls from a company nurse, which left her “feeling pressured into going back to work”.
When she returned, she found it difficult to deal with the public while feeling as if “at any moment a dam of tears could burst”.
She sought a different role but was told “basically ... to get on with it”.
“So that was what I felt I needed to do. Suck it up, be fine and get on with it.”
Ms Duggan went on to work elsewhere in customer service and experienced varying levels of support during five more miscarriages.
After her fourth miscarriage, tests discovered she had a genetic condition that resulted in a higher risk of miscarrying.
Ms Duggan also said that after this fourth loss her workplace was “supportive to a degree”, but she was also given a written warning over an absence.
However, her manager at the time of her fifth miscarriage was “so supportive”, she said. She got sick leave, and “there was no pressure put on me to rush back”.
She also experienced support after the loss of a sixth baby, with a manager “checking in to see how I was doing without being invasive”.
Her first son, Daithi, was born in 2009. She has two other children: Siofra (13) and Oisin (9).
She said that over eight years “we had six miscarriages – lost six little babies – and had three beautiful living children”.
“How your employer deals with you at one of the most difficult times in your life can have a huge impact on the healing process and the trauma that goes with it,” she said.
The Miscarriage Association of Ireland offers peer-to-peer support for people experiencing pregnancy loss.
Ms Duggan said legislating for miscarriage leave would mean “one less thing people experiencing pregnancy loss have to worry about”.
Proposed legislation first put forward by the Labour Party in 2021 would provide for up to 20 days of paid leave for women suffering early pregnancy loss.
In January 2024, the then-government deferred any progression of the Bill for 12 months to allow more time to develop legislative proposals.
Labour Party TD Marie Sherlock recently tabled a parliamentary question asking Minister for Children Norma Foley if she intends to take up the issues in Labour’s Bill.
In response, Ms Foley said she recognises “the enormous, personal impact that pregnancy loss has on expectant parents”.
Officials were said to be examining a study by University College Cork (UCC) academics that recommended “a statutory right to paid leave” for pre-viability pregnancy loss.
Ms Foley’s department is also developing the next National Strategy for Women and Girls, due to be published by the end of June, which would be informed by the UCC research.
The department is also to engage with the Department of Enterprise on the issues in Labour’s Bill.
[ Even the word ‘miscarriage’ seems to suggest the mother is somehow at faultOpens in new window ]
Ms Sherlock said “seeing is believing here in terms of the Government actually being serious about developing any legislative proposals”.
She argued there has been “no progress” since Labour first tabled its Bill in 2021.
A Department of Children statement said the Government “has committed to including provisions providing for leave for pregnancy loss” in a Bill “which has been given priority drafting”.
It said development of a new form of family leave requires “very careful consideration around who would be entitled to the leave and how the leave would operate in practice”.
“It is important that any form of leave would be effective in addressing the needs of employees, while also be practical to implement,” it said.
The department said “any form of leave – even unpaid – can have significant costs for the exchequer and these must be fully identified”.
