How NHS worsens agony of miscarriage

Published on Monday 10 October 2011 00:07

Women are experiencing unnecessary heartbreak when miscarrying because of poor NHS services, two new surveys suggest.

An online poll of around 1,400 women who have had a miscarriage in the last decade found 63 per cent who miscarried at home after a hospital scan were not offered adequate pain relief.

Almost half of those who were in hospital for their miscarriage were treated alongside pregnant women or those with newborn babies, causing unnecessary distress.

More than a fifth of those referred for a scan had to wait three days or more for it, while 35 per cent of women who needed a surgical procedure had to wait four days or longer.

Overall, 29 per cent said the information provided by healthcare staff was poor or inadequate, according to the poll by the website Mumsnet.

It also showed that more than one in ten of women did not tell family or friends about their miscarriage.

Mumsnet co-founder Justine Roberts said: “There is no getting away from the hurt of mis- carriage, but there are a number of simple changes that could make a considerable difference to the level of trauma miscarrying parents undergo.

“We’re asking national and local politicians and health care providers to get behind our code of care to improve the treatment received by women who miscarry.”

The five-point Miscarriage Code of Care calls for supportive staff, access to scans and more information on treatment.

It was welcomed by experts last night.

Royal College of Midwives (RCM) general secretary Cathy Warwick said: “Miscarriage, as we know, has a physical and psychological impact on women and their families.

“This is why it is important that a clear pathway for caring for women experiencing miscarriage is in place and understood by all clinicians.

“The RCM welcomes Mums-net’s code of care, which challenges service providers to act in the best interest of women at a most difficult time for them.”

According to the charity Tommy’s, there are an estimated about 9,000 miscarriages a year in Scotland.

Dr Andrew Horne, clinical senior lecturer and consultant gynaecologist at the MRC Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh, said: “Mumsnet is to be applauded for campaigning on this issue, and raising the profile of miscarriage care on behalf of the many women who sadly experience early pregnancy loss in this country every year.

“Miscarriage can be a very traumatic event for parents, but there are things which can be done to make it less so.”

A second online survey of more than 500 women by the website gurgle.com who mis- carried found that 14 per cent were told they needed to experience four or more in a row before they could be tested for a cause.

Recommendations are for women to be referred after suffering three miscarriages in a row.

The poll also found 62 per cent of women were given no information by their GP about further testing following miscarriage. Some 12 per cent of women were placed on the labour ward to recover after a miscarriage, and 32 per cent were put on a general ward.

Almost half said they did not feel they were treated sensitively by medical staff after their miscarriage.

Related Articles

• Interview: Justine Roberts and Carrie Longton, Mumsnet founders

  THERE is something deceptively couthy about the name Mumsnet. The internet discussion and information site for parents sounds like its users should be a coterie of plump mums in sloppy Joes discussing teething rusks and organic veg.

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