AIBU - RE: Planned or unplanned pregnancy miscarriage

[Sassypants82]

Was just wondering if anyone can tell me if there's any medical relevance to being asked if a recent miscarriage was from an unplanned or planned pregnancy.. I miscarried my pregnancy last month & saw my practice nurse today for a blood test.. Told her my recent history (dealt with at the hospital) & was wondering what is the relevance of being asked if my baby was planned?? Is it to gauge how upset I ''should'' be depending on the answer?

Got me wondering as my friend said a midwife asked her the same question when she miscarried.

Not medically strictly but because it may inform how you feel about it. It's so they have a sense of where you're coming from and I honestly don't mean that in a bad way.

My first mc was an unplanned pregnancy and I found I felt guilt attached to due to its being unplanned I wondered if being on the pill, drinking, doing a physically demanding job or even feeling unsure whether I wished to continue with the pregnancy (before the choice was taken out of my hands of course) had at all contributed to the mc - these feelings are not uncommon with an unplanned pregnancy.

With my second mc I still had feelings of guilt and wondered if anything I'd done had contributed to the mc, but it was a different reaction to what I'd had with the first.

So it's not to judge, or say how you "should" feel but to let them know as they then can anticipate some of the feelings and questions that might arise for you.

I think that’s probably a general question asked of everyone at booking. I certainly remember being asked it with both of my healthy pregnancies. Though honestly I don’t remember being asked with my miscarriage. I would suspect it may be to gauge what sort of emotional support you might need (not how upset you should be, per se), but perhaps other risk factors for pregnancy complications (like were you on folic acid, had quit smoking, etc). None of those are a given in a planned pregnancy, but I suspect maybe they might follow up or offer advice in different ways depending on the circumstances. It’s likely also just for statistical purposes as I suspect (thinking with my health researcher hat on here) that the NHS must collect data on unplanned pregnancies and their outcomes as it’s a notable public health concern.

I think it is leading onto the next question of if you want to try for another baby soon

Thanks, all of your answers make sense.

I was asked this when pregnant with my 2 children and with my current (so far healthy) pregnancy. I think it’s a way of assessing potential impact on mental health.

I assumed it was related to birth control. If it was a planned pregnancy then you would not have been taking or on any. If it was unplanned and you had a coil/pill/implant then you’d need further referral to change (or find possibly) your contraception.