I'm Abi and I'm starting this Campaign for better treatment of women suffering miscarriages following the lack of empathy and neglect that I experienced from my local hospital. My story is at the end of this post, if you would like to read it. Apologies for the extremely long post...
I need your help to highlight this issue - and I'm going to take it as far as I can go. I'm aware that Mumsnet have previously mentioned this subject and that they were campaigning for this at one point. I've been told that the pressure will resume around September and I hope to work with them to push this until we get a result!
Whether you have had a miscarriage or not, I hope you will want to support this cause - it's what every woman deserves.
If you've had a miscarriage that turned into an even more traumatic experience at the hands of your local hospital or whether you feel your situation was dealt with professionally and with genuine care, let me know. I want to promote these positive stories and highlight these negative ones (anonymously unless requested otherwise) so that everyone is given an acceptable level of treatment.
My aim is to take this complaint as high as it can go, to hopefully introduce a procedure and standards for hospitals to follow when dealing with women suffering miscarriages. This includes treating miscarriages as an emergency.
Below is what I believe should be standard UK practice ? it?s not asking much, just the very basics that all women deserve when suffering a miscarriage.
1)Miscarriages should be treated as an emergency. Meaning being prioritised through A&E.
2)All professionals need to be trained in compassionate and empathetic communication, they should be advised on the effects that losing a baby has on women and therefore would be less likely to cause any upset.
3)Appropriate waiting/treatment rooms ? that?s not in the Children?s ward, or the Anti-natal clinic. Women suffering a miscarriage or a suspected miscarriage should be separated from pregnant women having routine checks, and from women wishing to terminate their unwanted pregnancy.
4)Scans should be given to all women suspecting a miscarriage the same day. Portable scanning units with trained staff should be available in all A&E departments.
5)Every woman should be entitled to choose how she wishes her miscarriage to conclude ? by surgery, through medication to start things off, or naturally. These options should be fully explained with timescales, what they involve and risks by trained professionals.
6)Waiting times for medical or surgical management of a confirmed miscarriage for those who choose it should be within a reasonable time scale of 1-2 days to reduce the risk of the trauma of going through a natural miscarriage.
7)Patients having a miscarriage at hospital should be kept regularly informed ? what is happening, what to expect next, what the hospital is going to do for them. (The staff should also know this!)
8)Medical jargon should be more sensitively renamed - not to refer to the miscarriage as a spontaneous/missed ABORTION, and Evacuation of Retained Products of Conception are both insensitive.
9)More information and advice to be given after the miscarriage regarding both the physical and emotional side ? councelling to be routinely offered with an initial appointment arranged within 2 weeks of the miscarriage if wanted by the patient.
10)A follow-up reassurance scan to be given to all women before 6 weeks after the miscarriage for piece of mind and to confirm that there are no further complications.
11)A histology conducted by the hospital should include the option of a sex test as this can help with the grieving process ? even if it an option that requires additional payment ? and the results of the histology should be givin within 6 weeks of the miscarriage for closure. (understandably this would depend on the products of the miscarriage and the stage of the pregnancy).
12)Further blood tests should be routine ? including those for chlamydia/lupus, antiphospholid syndrome and blood clotting disorders.
13)Options for the disposal of the baby/foetus should be provided, it should not be treated as ?clinical waste? and should not just be ?routinely disposed of?.
14)Having to ring around to cancel your own pregnancy related appointments shouldn?t be necessary, it should be automatically done
Please help by joining my facebook page (below) and supporting this group by posting your comments and stories. A miscarriage is so much of a traumatic experience without having to deal with knowing you didn't receive the best possible care. Help make sure that this doesn't happen to anyone else.
"CAMPAIGN FOR UK STANDARDS ON THE TREATMENT OF MISCARRIAGES"
www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=237985745071&ref=mf#/group.php?gid=237985745071&ref=search
Thank You
Abi XxXxX
. I lost my baby at 16 weeks ago when I was 12 weeks pregnant.
I'm posting this hoping for as many replies as possible following a complaint I made to my local hospital. Basically I received some of the poorest care possible.
I went into hospital on a Tuesday with bleeding and was told that I wouldn't be able to have a scan until Friday unless I was "Bleeding to death" - that's a quote.
On Wednesday I booked in for an emergency scan with a different hospital which told me that my baby had no heartbeat and had died at 7 weeks 5 days. I was told I could go into hospital on the Saturday to take the tablet to empty my womb, however on the Thursday I went into labour. When I arrived at A&E I was told to wait for 3 1/2 hours in the A&E waiting room with other patients and it wasn't until I lost a lot of blood in one go that they put me in a bed (IN THE CHILDREN'S WARD!!!).
After waiting for around 10-15 minutes for pain relief I was given morphene and the pain of my contractions lessened (My other half had to demand pain relief 3 times from nurses and found 4 of them in the corridor having a chat when he could hear me screaming from where they were). However one nurse stood me up to wipe the blood away after thinking that my contractions had finished and that was when my baby was born - when I think of my baby now I don't think about the scan pictures that I have, the mental image I have is of my baby hitting the floor.
Eventually I was transfered to a different hospital as no one could deal with me there (after being there for around 5-6 hours, surely they would have known that when I got there?!). My baby was taken away for a histology and I was kept in over night at the other hospital.
I asked a nurse to know the sex of my baby to which I was told "I'm sure that can be arranged" - to give me some closure and to help me grieve, 14 weeks after my miscarriage I was given the result of the histology and this test wasn't done. I would have paid privately to know as it was important to me. Now I'll never know and I'm struggling to cope mentally.
After 2 months of feeling that something wasn't right with me I have finally had a scan on my uterus that has told me that my left ovary is abnormal which has left me in a further state of depression.
I am still suffering depression and anxiety following the way I was dealt with - I have had trouble grieving for my baby due to my ongoing complaint as I have had no closure.
After complaining to the hospital about my situation and the lack of care and empathy from staff I now have a meeting this coming Tuesday 4th August with the Modern Matron and the Operational Service Manager to discuss my complaint. By doing this I aim my complaint to go further to establish a nationwide agreed proceedure on how women are dealt with when suffering a miscarriage, ie I want it to be treated as an emergency (it's not a broken arm or leg afterall) - and I want a scan to be given to all women before 6 weeks after their miscarriage for the piece of mind that everything is back to normal - and if it's not at least it's better to know sooner rather than later as things can hopefully be done to make it right. I would also like for women to officially be given the option of a sex test during the histology (obviously this depends on how far along the pregnancy was, and whether it is actually possible to conduct one on the products of the miscarriage) even if it means having to pay for one, as long as the option is given.
I would really appreciate anyone who has suffered any sort of neglect at hospital relating to a miscarriage to post a reply on here. Even if you received brilliant care infact, that you think should be made standard, I want to take your story (anonymous of course) with me to this meeting, and again to people higher up until something is done to lessen the pain, stress and anxiety of going through such a traumatic and upsetting ordeal.
Please help me in my aim to obtain better treatment for women suffering a miscarriage by posting a reply here or on my Facebook group "Campaign for UK standards on the treatment of miscarriages", pass the message to your family and friends too if they have any stories.
Thank You
Abi XxXxX
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abi89campaigningforchange · 03/08/2009 23:34
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