Some stories begin with utter heartbreak yet grow into something extraordinary. Keeley Lengthorn's journey is one of those stories. It is a tale woven with pain, courage and the fierce love of a mother and father determined that their son's short life would change lives. What began as one couple’s grief has become a movement that reshaped the law and touched the lives of countless families across the UK.

For Keeley, motherhood came with trials that no one should have to endure. In February 2019, her first pregnancy ended suddenly at six and a half weeks. Over a year later, during the first COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020, she faced an ectopic pregnancy. Emergency surgery ended the pregnancy and resulted in the loss of one fallopian tube. Alone in hospital and separated from loved ones, she endured another blow to her hopes of becoming a mother.

Then came 3 March 2022, the day that would change everything. After undergoing IVF, Keeley carried her long-awaited precious baby boy, George Emmett, into the world at just twenty-two and a half weeks. He weighed a single pound. She held him, whispered his name and said goodbye, treasuring a moment both devastating and precious.

Yet despite her shattering loss, something powerful was born. Keeley, and George’s dad Will, simply refused to let his memory fade.

Keeley knew only too well the cruelty of a system that forced grieving parents back to work with no time to breathe and no recognition of their loss. In the eyes of the law, babies who died before twenty-four weeks simply did not exist. Parents like Keeley were expected to return to work as though nothing had happened.

Keeley decided that this had to change. Poignantly in late 2021 had drafted a baby loss policy within her own law firm, Taylor Rose MW Solicitors, which the firm introduced in January 2022. After George's death two months later, she became the first to use the policy herself.

What began as a workplace measure soon grew into a nationwide campaign. With unshakeable determination, Keeley took her fight to Parliament. Keeley travelled the country, speaking from the heart about why bereaved parents deserved more than silence. Her campaign initially called for three days' paid leave for pregnancy loss before twenty-four weeks, matching what was on offer in other countries around the world. And as more families shared their stories, the need for wider reform became undeniable.

Her message was clear: compassion should not be conditional. Loss is loss, no matter how many weeks into a pregnancy it occurs. Parents deserve time to grieve, to heal and to be acknowledged. Crucially, as she argued with passion and persuasion, bereavement leave should not sick leave.

Then, on 3 March 2025, George's third birthday, Keeley's dream became reality. The Labour government announced an amendment to the Employment Rights Bill, granting paid leave for pregnancy loss before twenty-four weeks. This reform is expected to support a quarter of a million families every year.

For Keeley, it was a victory in law that fulfilled a promise to her son. The words engraved on his memorial plaque, "Tiny feet can make an everlasting impact", had become truth. George's life, though heartbreakingly short, had left a footprint across the nation.

Her mission has not ended there. Keeley has created training programmes for workplaces, helping employers understand how to support colleagues through loss with sensitivity and humanity. She’s won awards, delivered countless speeches across the UK and beyond, and taken part in hundreds of interviews. By challenging stigma and starting conversations long avoided, she has given voice to parents who once suffered in silence.

That’s why this story is far from over. Not only is Keeley continuing to lobby the Government to ensure the right period of paid leave is introduced she’s also targeting businesses and employers. She’s on a crusade to change and improve the workplace policies which exist to help those who suffer the loss of a child. As a result she’s also teamed up with a number of charities and organisations who share her commitment to change.

You can read more about them below.

Keeley's story is about a mother's courage to stand in the rawness of her grief and declare that her son mattered, and that every child lost in pregnancy matters too. George's Law is a gift of recognition. It gives parents the right to grieve without shame, to rest without fear and to know that their loss is seen. It stands as a national reminder that compassion must sit at the heart of law and that every life holds meaning.

Keeley has shown that one voice, fuelled by love and determination, can echo louder than silence. She has turned her son's short life into a legacy that will comfort grieving families for generations.

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