More babies are stillborn or die within a month of being born in Ireland every year than people die on the roads, a bereaved mother warned on Wednesday. It also heard from senators Nicole Ryan and Tom Clonan on their personal experiences with pregnancy loss and how services could be improved based on this trauma. Cork woman Mairie Cregan, of Feileacain the stillbirth and neonatal death charity, discussed the need to raise awareness of preventable baby deaths. Professor Keelin O’Donoghue lead, Pregnancy Loss Research Group, University College Cork, said this is a “significant” challenge. “I think unfortunately all aspects of pregnancy loss have been quite a stigmatised issue, quite a hidden issue and something that people don’t talk about,” she said.

Source: Irish Examiner February 19, 2026 05:59 UTC