After winning her battle against uterine cancer, she underwent an 18-month IVF quest to become pregnant.

"We were happy, we felt all our dreams had come true and the 18-month treatment was worth it," she stated.

"We thought all of this is behind us now and we can move on and bring a baby home in nine months."

On August 19, 2019, their daughter Jaya was born at 22 weeks gestation. That following day, she passed away.

"She lived at birth. She stopped breathing after spending 14 minutes with us, Vaishali continued.

Vaishali claimed that although she was informed she was "high risk" throughout her pregnancy, she did not receive any extra treatment, such as scans or blood testing.

And when she informed midwives she was experiencing unusual symptoms, she said her concerns were ignored.

Vaishali understands the death of a baby is not a rare event, around 13 die shortly before, during or soon after birth every day in the UK.

But she said the fact there continues to be stark inequalities in outcomes for babies of different ethnicities in the UK is "disgusting".

"I shouldn't be more likely to lose my baby because of the colour of my skin. To know it's more likely to happen to me or to someone who's black, because of their ethnicity, it's just shocking.

"We are in 2024."

She joined other bereaved parents who are supported by Sands charity and have written an open letter to the newly-formed government urging them to address the disparities.

Stillbirth rates continue to be higher for babies of black ethnicity (7.52 per 1,000 total births) and babies of Asian ethnicity (5.15 per 1,000 total births) compared to babies of white ethnicity (3.30 per 1,000 total births).

There was a very small increase in stillbirth rates from 2020 for babies of white and Asian ethnicity, but a larger rise for babies of black ethnicity representing a widening of inequalities.

For neonatal mortality, the rate for babies of black ethnicity increased to 2.94 per 1,000 live births, meaning this group now has the highest rate of neonatal mortality.

There was a fall in the neonatal mortality rate for babies of Asian ethnicity (2.22 per 1,000 births).

The neonatal mortality rate for babies of white ethnicity increased but remained lower than rates for black and Asian ethnicities at 1.68 per 1,000 live births.

"It's totally unacceptable that there are these disparities and desperately sad because we know that it doesn't have to be like this," said Clea Harmer, CEO of Sands.

"I think it sends the saddest and most unacceptable message to these women that actually, the fact that their babies have a different skin colour, they aren't seen as equal and as important as white babies.

"I think nobody would want that message or that reality.

"I think any maternity improvement programme has to address inequalities as part of its overall structure and it's really important to have a specific target for inequalities as part of its overall structure."