Parents who have experienced miscarriage—— Abortion within the first 23 weeks - Paid bereavement leave should be legal, according to MPs' report.

Currently, only people who lose a child or infant after 24 weeks are eligible for two weeks of paid leave. But a group of MPs are calling for the upcoming Employment Rights Bill to extend this provision to all pregnancy losses.

A Department of Commerce spokesman said losing a baby is "extremely difficult and we know many employers will show compassion and understanding in this situation".

But Anna Marnat said she went back to work three days after the miscarriage: "I really didn't know how long it would take and I felt like I needed to go back."

In 2018, Anna experienced three miscarriages.

Although her boss was very supportive, she decided to return to work three days after her first miscarriage, recording it as sick leave.

After two more miscarriages, Anna said she "became a shadow of herself" and struggled with stress and anxiety at work, eventually leading to her resignation.

"I'm convinced that if I had taken the time to recover and handle returning to work better, I would have stayed in this job," she said.

Anna and her husband now have two children and she volunteers with the Miscarriage Association. She believes the right to paid bereavement leave would be "life-changing".

While the couple was going through her pregnancy, her husband attended meetings and went on business trips.

"They were his children, too. He never really had the time or space to grieve himself," she said.

Anna said it also meant he couldn't support her in the way he wanted to.

"If there was a policy, it would be easier for him to say, 'I'm going to take a few weeks off.'"

According to figures from the cross-party Women and Equalities Committee report, it is estimated that more than one in five pregnancies will end before 24 weeks, and around 20% of women will experience a miscarriage in their lifetime.

It is recommended that bereavement leave be extended to those who have experienced an ectopic pregnancy (the baby grows outside the uterus), a molar pregnancy (the egg is not fertilized properly), failed in vitro fertilization (IVF) embryo transfer and termination of pregnancy for medical reasons.

The committee acknowledged that several employers, including NHS Trusts and Co-ops, already have policies in place for staff who have experienced infant loss.

However, it said this was not common.

Labor MP Sarah Owen, chair of the committee, shared her own experience of losing a baby.

“During my first pregnancy, I was unprepared for the shock of miscarriage at work,” she said.

"Like many women, I was legally required to take sick leave. But I was just grieving, not sick, but with a deep sense of loss."

The report describes sick leave as an "inappropriate and inadequate" way of supporting staff through baby loss, and notes that low rates of statutory sick pay mean some people cannot afford the time off they need.

Cath Abraham, chief executive of pregnancy and baby charity Tommy's, said she hoped the government would move quickly to change the law.

"For too many women, the psychological and physical impact of miscarriage is compounded by the pressure to return to work immediately and the lack of time to grieve," she said.

She added: “It is unacceptable that sick absence from work often remains the only option, which can leave women and their partners financially vulnerable.”

this Employment Rights Act It is currently under consideration in Parliament. The government describes it as "the biggest upgrade to work rights in a generation".

A spokesman for the Department of Business and Trade said: “Our Employment Rights Bill will establish a new bereavement leave entitlement, make paternity and parental leave a right and strengthen protections for pregnant women and new mothers returning to work. "