When parents are told that their baby has died, they may need time to take in what has happened before they can think about the decisions ahead. The National Bereavement Care Pathway advises staff to find a private place for that conversation, explain things clearly and allow time for questions. Its 2025 stillbirth guidance for England recognises that information may need to be discussed more than once.
The Felix Foundation plans to support improvements to bereavement facilities alongside professional training and specialist equipment. That means thinking about a room in use: who can stay there, how staff provide care and whether parents have the privacy they need.
Privacy begins outside the door
In its position statement on bereavement rooms and suites, Sands recommends a location where parents can arrive and leave without having to pass expectant parents or newborn babies. Where sounds from neighbouring maternity areas cannot be avoided, it recommends soundproofing.
That separation has to work alongside access to clinical care. Sands says the room should be close enough to the labour ward for a mother to receive continuous care during labour when her baby has died before birth.
Inside, the recommendations are practical: a double bed, a bathroom attached to the room and a small kitchen area wherever possible. A partner or other supporter may need somewhere comfortable to sit and access to refreshments. These details affect how long someone can stay beside the person receiving care.
Sands also recommends involving bereaved parents in the design. A conversation about their experience can help a hospital decide what needs changing before it buys furniture or chooses paint. The aim is a private, comfortable space that works for the people using it.
The gap between guidance and experience
The Care Quality Commission's national review of maternity services in England from 2022 to 2024 found considerable variation in bereavement facilities. Most services inspected had a dedicated space, but some rooms lacked soundproofing or were in locations that brought bereaved parents into contact with expectant parents and new babies.
In one service, parents experiencing baby loss were cared for in the middle of a labour ward. The report also noted that good refurbishments were often funded by hospital charities or community fundraising.
Those findings concern the services inspected during that review. They do not describe every hospital today. They do show why having a room labelled for bereavement is not enough on its own. Its position and the conditions inside need attention too.
Time with a baby is a choice
The NHS information on care after a stillbirth explains that parents can choose whether to see or hold their baby. Those who want to do so should have quiet time together. Photographs, handprints and other mementos are options as well.
There is no single response that parents are expected to have. Someone may know what they want straight away; someone else may be unsure. The NHS describes ways that mementos can sometimes be kept for later, so a parent does not have to decide immediately whether to look at them or take them home.
This is one reason privacy matters. A room should allow parents to spend time as they choose, with staff explaining the options without pressure. The value of that space cannot be judged by whether a family decides to use it in a particular way.
What thoughtful planning can look like
The published plans for the Willow Suite at Royal Lancaster Infirmary offer a concrete example. University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust described a shower room attached to the suite, access to a private garden and a bed for a partner or family member to stay overnight.
Service users helped shape the plans, including choices about furniture and adjustable lighting. These were plans for a development funded through the trust's own capital funds, not a Felix Foundation project. They illustrate the sort of practical decisions involved in creating a space around the people who will use it.
The staff need support too
The National Bereavement Care Pathway's standards place access to a suitable bereavement room alongside personalised care, adequate staffing and training. They also call for support for the healthcare professionals providing that care.
Staff need the resources to explain choices sensitively and respond to each family's needs. Funding training belongs in the same discussion as funding facilities, because both affect the care a hospital can provide.
Where the foundation can help
The Felix Foundation Supporting Neonatal Care plans to provide grants towards hospital facilities, including bereavement suites, and specialist equipment through work with hospitals and hospital charities. Supporting midwives and other healthcare professionals with training around preterm births, stillbirths and neonatal loss is a core part of our purpose.
We do not provide care or financial support directly to families. Our role is to support the professionals and hospital services caring for them.
If you represent a hospital or hospital charity, you can tell us about your team's needs. Healthcare professionals interested in support for their learning can visit our training funding page for information about that part of our work.