Ms Claire Cullen-Delsol:

Currently there is nothing. Most of our counselling came from charities or support groups such as our own, Termination for Medical Reasons Ireland. My daughter has never had counselling although we have requested it several times. My husband only had counselling this year through work. Much of it is just maternal mental health care, because there is nothing that can be done physically, especially while one is still pregnant, but one could be supported, listened to and have the opportunity to talk about the situation. At the moment there is nothing there. Even in terms of practical support, there is nobody to explain how to fill up a still birth certificate or at what stage. One has to Google it. If it was not for my GP, I would have had no one to talk to outside my family. She used to call me and tell me to come up for an appointment and made sure that I came up every week to talk to her. I would sit there and rant and cry and she would listen. That was it and because maternal antenatal care with the GP is free, I could do that for free.

My midwife in the hospital only saw me once. She took me through what a still birth would be like, how I would know when Alex had died, what the signs were and what to do afterwards. That was in a maternity setting, in a maternity hospital. When I went in after my doctor could not find a heartbeat, I went to the clinic to have a scan and sat in a room with 30 other pregnant women who were all expecting babies, and I knew my baby was dead. My son was asleep beside me in his push chair and my husband was beside me, with people coming in and out, asking all the normal questions. That was just unbearable. There was no need for that. We need to be able to afford people privacy and dignity and respect and be understanding of their circumstances. Imagine sitting there, knowing one's child has died and facing a still birth, having to sit in a waiting room with 30 pregnant women and their excited families. They were swapping scan photographs in front of me.

Maternal mental health care is very important. It is essential for the well-being of all of society because the mams are making the people for the country. We need to keep them well and mind them, and that means minding their mental health because, God knows, being pregnant and having kids can be trying on mental health. That is probably step one and then after that choices and availability.

The little touches that make it bearable, such as the little things that one gets in the hospital like the clothes for the baby, the photographer who comes and takes pictures, the memory box, candles and blankets, are all provided by a charity, Féileacáin. They are not provided by the hospital. To my knowledge, the only thing the State actually provides is the coffin and that might be quite telling regarding the State's position on providing support and services.