In Ukraine, 65% of women are unable to say goodbye to a deceased infant.
A study by the "Safe Birth" NGO revealed that over 65% of women who experienced perinatal loss did not have the opportunity to see their child and say goodbye, and almost 80% did not receive psychological support in the hospital. There is no single national standard for supporting families in such cases in Ukraine.
In Ukraine, over 65% of women who experienced perinatal loss were unable to see their child and say goodbye, and almost 80% did not receive psychological support in the hospital. These are the results of a large-scale study conducted by the public organization "Safe Birth".
A study involving 516 women who experienced perinatal loss between the ages of 2021 and 2026, and 308 medical professionals, found that 65,7% of the women surveyed did not have contact with their child after the loss. Of these, 36,9% stated that they were not offered such an opportunity at all, while 28,7% reported that medical staff refused. 71% of the respondents did not receive any explanation regarding the possibility of seeing their child, saying goodbye to them, or creating memorial items.
78,2% of women interviewed at a medical facility after experiencing a loss did not receive a referral for a psychologist or therapist, even though 63,6% explicitly requested such support. Additionally, 57,6% of the participants reported experiencing a lack of understanding or devaluation of their grieving process, 54,5% – avoidance of conversations about the deceased child, and 46,8% heard from others that they "should just move on."
According to official data from the Ministry of Health of Ukraine for the 2025 year, 159 147 children were born alive on government-controlled territories, 930 children were born dead, 353 children died during the first 28 days of life, 481 children died between the ages of 28 days and one year, and 3 208 cases of spontaneous abortion were recorded up to 22 weeks. 76,7% of surveyed medical professionals identified the lack of clear standards as a key obstacle, while 80,6% fully support the implementation of national standards for supporting individuals experiencing perinatal loss.