With just 53 consultant pathologists across the UK, families are having to wait months for a postmortem examination to take place, leaving families in limbo in severely distressing times.13:38, 29 May 2026Updated 13:46, 29 May 2026A fifth of families who have suffered the tragic loss of a child are having to wait six months or more for the cause of death due to a shortage in the number of qualified pathologists trained to carry out postmortem examinations on children.‌The strains have forced Dr Marta Cohen, Paediatric pathologist to come out of retirement in the hopes of helping reduce the long waiting times bereaved parents are forced to face. She explained: "We are in the most serious situation that we have been in the last 20 years."‌One family feeling the brunt of this, Nathan and Fiona Robinson from Doncaster as they waited seven gruelling months for a postmortem examination after suddenly loosing their two-year old son Alfie.‌In May 2022, Fiona attempted to wake up her son and his older sister when she found him passed away in his bed. She told the BBC: "I went over and tapped his back lightly and said, 'Come on dreamer, it's time to get up now'. I knew straight away, as soon as I rolled him over, he was gone."With no warning signs prior to the death, Fiona and Nathan were left “living in limbo” until the pathology team at Sheffield Children’s Hospital could attempt to give them the answer to how he died in what she describes as “one of the most harrowing moments of her life.” Nathan explains after the sudden death, the couple “no longer operate like normal parents.”‌"You go over loads of scenarios in your head on a daily basis. What happened? Could we have done something differently?" he said. "Then, having another child, it leaves you constantly fearing for her future."In the midst of attempting to grieve for their son, their fears and pain were compounded with not knowing for several months why Alfie died. The family were met with further pain two years later as an inquest could not establish a cause of death after a postmortem examination, an examination of the scene and review of the child’s and family’s medical history.‌Around 40 children and young people aged 18 and under die unexpectedly in the UK every year from unknown causes, in which investigations failed to uncover a reason. The delays have been attributed to a national staffing shortage, with more than a third of pathologist post vacant, a Royal College of Pathologist (RCP) revealed.The RCP said the main barriers to recruitment were shortages of qualified pathologists, budget constraints, and delays due to approvals or processes. Nathan said: "For a parent that's gone through an unexplained death, it's paramount that they get that answer quickly. It's really important for these families that they can start to build a life again that's been completely destroyed."Sheffield Children’s hospital conduct around 500 postmortem examinations on children each year, including around 120 cases of sudden, unexpected deaths, as some pathologist are picking up extra shifts to cover workforce gaps. Lead paediatric and perinatal pathologist, Dr Marta Cohen currently handles 85% of the sudden death cases after coming out of retirement.‌She says the number of pathologists has been falling for two decades, Explaining the decline, she said: "The cases are complex, the workforce is short, and the pressure is high. So the wellbeing of the pathologist is not good enough.”There are only 53 consultant pathologist across the UK, according to the RCP with some regions such as Midlands and South West not having any child pathologist resulting in severe pressure for consultants. Dr Cohen performs examinations in Sheffield on children from as far as Kent, Newcastle and the West Midlands, with some bodies arriving a month after death because “coroners have been trying to find a pathologist.”Article continues belowShe says the government “has to invest in training” to help solve the delays, adding: "If you don't have enough consultants, how will you train the ones you need?"A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told the BBC: "Any avoidable distress to families in this heartbreaking position is unacceptable." They said the department was committed to creating more training posts across the NHS "with a focus on specialties where there is greatest need".