Gina Jacobs, a Wirral mother who fought for more than 50 years to find her stillborn son, has received a landmark apology from Health Secretary Yvette Cooper and said she believes her baby “did not die in vain.”
Gina gave birth to her son Robert in February 1969, but he was stillborn. She never saw the baby, while her husband was told to collect him from the hospital and leave him at the cemetery without formally giving him a name.
Health Secretary's Apology
During a debate to mark Baby Loss Awareness Week in the House of Commons, Yvette Cooper, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, issued a public apology to Gina for the “unthinkable pain” she suffered as a result.
Gina, who lives in Greasby on the Wirral, said that while she hadn’t set out to become a campaigner, it renewed her belief that the reason she lost Robert was to help other families locate their sleeping babies. Speaking to the LDRS, she said she had been “knocked for six” by Ms Cooper’s statement.
She said: “She phoned me herself on my mobile and my sister said ‘are you sure it’s Yvette Cooper?’ She apologised and then told me what was going to happen.
“It kind of didn't sink in for a little bit because I thought, well, it's the health secretary phoning me herself. She's giving me a personal call and then I thanked her.
“I'm walking on air to be honest, because I can't believe I've got this apology. My babies, all my babies, because I think of them all as my babies, have now got the dignity and respect that they didn't get at the time.
“It was landfill for babies. It really was 100 to a grave.”
Historic Injustice
Prior to the mid-1980s, mothers in Liverpool and across the UK who suffered stillbirths or neonatal deaths were routinely denied the opportunity to see or hold their babies.
In August, a motion was put before Liverpool Council by Councillor Kris Brown and supported across all political parties, demanding that ministers take immediate national action to address decades of unresolved grief and institutional injustice. In a moving speech at Liverpool Town Hall, Gina called out the “despicable and inhumane way” mothers and babies had been treated as late as the 1990s “in a so-called civilised country.”
Gina told assembled councillors her husband was told an “outrageous lie” that her son would be buried alongside a woman who had also died around the same time. Robert was actually found half a century later at Landican Cemetery alongside more than 60 other stillborn children born between 1968 and 1969.
Addressing Parliament, the health secretary said: “At the hospital, he (Gina’s son) was taken away, and she never saw his face. Only years later did she discover that he had been buried in a mass grave without her knowledge.
“Just imagine the heartbreak of losing a child, followed by the pain of realising that something so important and personal had been kept from her. Across the decades, many bereaved parents have lost babies in NHS hospitals and been denied any say in, or any information about, what would happen to their remains.
“On behalf of the Government, I issue a profound apology to those parents - I have issued that apology to Gina today, but I issue it to so many more like Gina who have sought answers over many years. I am sorry for the unthinkable pain caused by those historic practices, because what happened to those parents should never have happened, and we need to ensure it can never happen again.”
Ongoing Campaign
Gina said: “It means a great overwhelming feeling of relief really, because I never, ever thought deep down we'd get an apology.
“It's such a shock and such a surprise. I really feel that my baby died not in vain, so this could happen and these other babies could be found.”
Some families have never been able to find their loved ones. This includes Linda and Eddie Bruchez from Gateacre who have also embarked on a gruelling search 50 years on from their own baby being stillborn.
In previous years, a campaign has highlighted the inhumane treatment of families with mothers and relatives seeking a government apology. Councils in Wirral and Oldham have led the way in offering support and raised the issue with MPs and ministers.
Cllr Brown has worked with Gina, including August’s motion, in her campaign. He said: “The government's words of apology will go a long way.
“For many, just acknowledging that it happened will bring a sense of closure and justice. However, this can't just be words simply etched into Hansard.
“I hope that the Secretary of State, along with the Prime Minister, issues a written apology and sets out a national framework on how families affected by the scandal can get support. I'm very proud of my own part in this campaign, and pleased that over 20 local authorities are taking similar steps to Liverpool Council in terms of offering support for families.
“There is still far more to do for full justice, but this news is very welcome.”
Gina echoed Cllr Brown’s sentiment and said she wouldn’t rest on her laurels. She added: “I almost feel as if the reason I lost him was to do this. I did not set out to do this, it just snowballed.
“I'm so glad I did. When I found them, it was just so lovely to be able to visit, to be able to go at Christmas, which we were denied because we didn’t know.
“We should have known. We should have been able to grieve, we were told not to talk about it. There’s more work to be done.
“The apology is not the end of it. We have missing babies.”
