Has anyone had bad treatment at A&E when miscarriage happens?

[Tacoma17]

Me and my partner were over the moon when we found out I was pregnant. Unfortunately I had a few days of noticeable tummy ache and dismissed it as everyone said it isn’t uncommon, it can be everything growing and shifting around!

Today started bleeding heavily, guessed it was a miscarriage as I’ve had one before. I called 111 for advice and was advised to go to my local A&E, cause of covid-19 it’s understandable I had to shout from a distance why I was there,

I was seen quickly buy two ladies, I then gave them a urine sample, and they said I wasn’t pregnant I was confused it’s just a period, I was just 2 months late. I was then asked if I had proof of the pregnancy tests which I did. And they then went on to say Clear blue wasn’t the best best brand and the digital ones aren’t to be going by. Even though I had explained The THREE in the picture were separate tests line up from different shops and stages throughout the day.

They sent me for a scan.. I waited a hour in pure agony, waiting to bleed out and shit myself it gets like! To then have a lady come out and say she’s read my notes no point doing a scan and to go home a rest. At this point I was so upset my partner came and collected me.
Has anyone be treated the same? I’m feeling extremely low! I had no other information given to me just left to question myself. I’ve had more information given to me after getting my ears pierced 15 years ago. 🥺

It’s not clear what you expected to happen. If they did a test and it was negative, then there is no point in doing a scan. Had you seen your gp or midwife before today?

While I get there is nothing they can do for you in the medical sense I think you should have been given information on how best to take care of yourself in the aftermath. I'm sorry OP.

I have been in your situation with an early miscarriage. For me, they did do a scan to confirm. The doctor was extremely dismissive and I assume they are more of these now that pregnancy tests are cheap and sensitive.

I’m sorry op. It’s a horrid thing to go through. It sounds like they could have been kinder, however IME a&e staff just don’t know how to deal with talking about miscarriages and normally they aren’t life threatening so they very much view it as not within their remit, which is understandable given the level of serious life threatening cases they see every day, and of course the current situation. There is nothing they can do whilst you’re actually bleeding, but normally you’d be offered a follow up scan to check for retained product if suspected. I’m surprised they didn’t offer you info about this but maybe the neg pregnancy test and the early gestation is enough for them to conclude that you have probably passed it naturally. My doctors advice when I had mine was ‘go home and have a cup of tea and try not to worry’ and then go to my scheduled 12 weeks scan in the next few days to check. At the time I was But actually this was the best/only advice he could give.

I am so sorry OP for what happened. Maternity care in the UK is quite medieval in so many cases. In many countries a miscarrying woman would be admitted for observation, here they just tell you to go home and not to whine.

Hi OP, I'm sorry you have gone through that.
I am an A&E nurse with many years experience. If you were to come into where I work, we would establish whether you are 'stable' or not. Early miscarriages can be just like a very heavy period. Once we have established that it is not a life or death situation, or that you require any support such as a blood transfusion/admission into hospital, we would generally discharge you home and get you a scan in the EPU within the next couple of days.
If they had done a pregnancy test and it was negative, they have no reason to believe you are pregnant.
Believe it or not, but we get all sorts of crazy in telling different stories that they are pregnant, etc etc and unless we can prove ourselves then unfortunately we need to go on our own testing.

My advice would be to try contact your EPU. They should be working normal hours now that everything is starting to reopen.
Do you mind me asking, how many weeks pregnant were you? If you were anything under 6 or 7 weeks, it is unlikely they will scan you, and it will just be treated as a natural miscarriage.

Sorry again, and I hope you feel better soon

I found the lack of sympathy quite surprising.

I was spoken to by a nurse in the middle of the waiting room, she suggested it was just my period (despite the numerous positive tests, and I had a toddler so was well aware of what being pregnant felt like), and just said well you’re not pregnant and sent me out the door with a leaflet.

As a nurse myself, I still can’t get over how cold they were about it. Of course they couldn’t do anything but they could have been nicer about it.

I've had 3 miscarriages, 1st one I was about 8 weeks, went to A and e it was a bank holiday monday. I had to wait hours and hours, they then told me go home and rest come back tomorrow when epu is open but yeah you've probably miscarried. I went back the next day epu were a bit nicer but they just confirmed I would loose the baby in next few days, come back when I did to scan that it was all gone and gave me a leaflet.
2and miscarriage was very very early but I had a few positive tests so I knew I was. But when I went they did a pregnancy test, said that it was negative so must have been a chemical pregnancy. And 3rd was 12 weeks, hospital were brilliant that time.
I found the earlier the miscarriage the more dismissive the staff were. The worst was actually the really early one. Google and read about chemical pregnancy, this is what I did the doctors really count it as not a miscarriage at all, but I felt quite depressed after that with no support or information.

Not in A&E but last year I was booked in for surgical management for my MMC. I had to fast from 8pm the night before and then at 5pm the next day, it was admitted that I'd been forgotten and they couldn't go ahead with the procedure. They wanted to send me on my way until I requested some food as I was ravenous by that point (and still suffering with sickness). Nurse told me that I'd be rescheduled first thing the next morning and to go home and have a "slap up meal". Hugely insensitive as I was very distressed as it was. Early the next morning I arrived and they had no record of me having the surgery early, even though I'd specifically been told that would happen. I ended up having it at 3pm, having had to fast from 8pm again the night before. In my experience, miscarriage is looked upon as 'one of those things'.

I lost my baby at 16 weeks in a&e after I began to bleed and went into what felt like labour. I was left in a cubicle, offered some gas & air, shocked, scared, with no idea what to expect and no preparation as to what I would see.
As I was wheeled to the gynae ward afterwards, the nurse just said casually, one in four pregnancies ends in miscarriage.
When I asked what would happen to my baby she shrugged and said 'its your baby, you can do what you like with it'
Now the staff on gynae were amazing, kind and caring.
But I struggle to visit a&e even now years later, it causes extreme anxiety.

It’s so sad this is an ongoing problem. Friends of mine have had similar experiences, and it’s not just like it’s one hospital, it seems to be all over.

Although they can't stop a miscarriage, and scanning when under six werks is pointless because they can't see anything, they could be nicer about it.

I rang my GP when I started bleeding and the receptionist refused to let me speak to anyone with medical training.
She just said "These things happen and they can't do anything about it".
Even if that's true, the way she said it was absolutely awful, and she should have let me at least speak to a nurse.

The second time it happened I didn't even bother calling anyone until after. I had 2 mcs and while the doctor doing my investigating as to why was kind and sympathetic, everyone else in a professional setting just kinda shrugged it off.

I'm sorry they treated you that way, OP.

Why would you go to A&E for a miscarriage? There's nothing anyone can do to stop one. Sounds harsh but it's the reality (I've had 4 myself).

I had an early miscarriage, saw my GP and he was just amazing. I was really upset and distressed, he really took his time and was so kind. I had a question he didn't know the answer to so he rang me back later that day. He completely validated my fear and upset.

I was booked in for an EPU scan a week later, they did a pregnancy test which was negative and sent me on my way. They were pretty dismissive and I think if I'd seen them in that initial stage I would have struggled a lot more to process what had happened.

Unfortunately your treatment was pretty normal OP.

When I started miscarrying (a long time ago now), the out of hours doc sent me to A&E. I was sat in the waiting room, I’d bled through my skirt, onto the chair and onto the floor. The triage nurse told me that unless my GP had confirmed my pregnancy I wasn’t miscarrying just having a period. My GP has never confirmed any of my pregnancies, just said congratulations and referred me to midwife care. The only “care” I saw was the cleaner mopping up under my chair they wouldn’t even give me a sanitary towel! DH came once he’d found someone to take care of DD, he said he would take me home to finish “losing our baby in privacy” and was told “your wife just needs to be more prepared for her monthly period”! I ended up with retained “products” an infection and having an ERPC under GA in a different hospital.

It’s crap they were not my sympathetic OP but what did you want them to do?, there isn’t any point in a scan and there isn’t anything they can really do for you?. Sorry for your loss.

I think early, pre 12 week MC's are just 'one of those things'.

And yes, I've had 2.

I think that what the OP would 'want them to do', to use your charmless phrase, is to give her appropriate medical advice and information, given that they are medical professionals and she is experiencing a medical event. Even if the advice and information is that given the stage of pregnancy and having observed the amount of blood loss, a scan is unlikely to show anything and that in their clinical opinion no intervention is necessary at this stage. Also to give her a list of symptoms to be aware of that would indicate a further problem that would indeed require intervention. That is the very least that they could do, as their job description requires.

A wee bit of common humanity for a woman experiencing pregnancy loss wouldn't go amiss either.

Sorry for your loss OP. Agree with a pp that you could contact your EPU to ask about a scan or for some information.

I had a scan at 12 weeks as i had a smidge...literally a brown smidge of blood. They told me there was no heartbeat and they would contact me in a day ot two for a d&c, they were hoping i would just miscarry

A few days later i had a miscarriage, we rang ahead to the hospital and they told us to come in. The receptionist laughed at me

There wasnt any support afterwards but they were very helpful when my blood tests came back as still with pregnancy hormones and i had to go into hospital

It can be really distressing and I’m so Sorry you didn’t get the support you needed 💐

Yes I was ambulanced to a&e at 18 weeks. 111 sent the ambulance as the epu was closed. I was told not to go to the Labour ward before 20 weeks by my midwife but that's crap because this pregnancy I've been as I thought I was miscarrying again and they were lovely and did a scan.

At a&e I was left to labour for my baby - which at 18 weeks is 12 cm from head to rump- on my own in a cubicle. I only had the cubicle because I started screaming in pain after two hours in the corridor.

Once she was born at least the kindness started. She was given a basket and I cuddled her all night, we organised our own funeral and our vicar was so wonderful.

I think there should be a lot more awareness about miscarriage and women's health in general (and men's. Anything that is specific to just one sex gets sidelined)

We get more information on tv about the surface of the sun than about miscarriage.

I've had two MC- one at 7 weeks and one at 18 and they were like night and day. Both sad, but the 18 week was the worst time of my life.

Hi OP. Similar situation to you. I had heavy bleeding, rang 111 and told to go to A&E, this was a year or two ago. The waiting room was full so expected a wait but when we had been there 5 hours and people with a cut finger were seen before me it was awful. I was bleeding heavily, in tears and in pain. When the doctor came he apologized and said it had been so busy but then heard him say to a nurse that he had just got back from sorting out his parking tickets. He was dismissive and rude. He also threw in a couple of eye rolls.

My pregnancy test did have a faint positive so was referred to EPU and was confirmed miscarriage the following day. EPU were fantastic and so supportive, as was the nurse who took the blood test. I agree with contacting you EPU, if not for a scan, just some information on what to do and symptoms to look out for if you should have an infection.

I am so sorry for you loss.

Some perspective from the other side. It’s a tad mystifying why women with a routine miscarriage use A&E. If at home and then things go completely pear shaped, such as passing out due to extreme blood loss then by all means hitch a ride in via ambulance, otherwise there’s no reason to be there.

Demanding ‘do something’ or then saying the miscarriage was A&E’s fault because they ‘didn’t do anything’ is odd. If it’s a routine early miscarriage no one can do anything. There are things for early labour at a much later stage that can be attempted but it’s not relevant to 99.99% of people who rock up to A&E. There is no reason to take up a bed when there is no fix and realistically people would be so much more comfortable at home. People are offended when they are pushed out the door but if they don’t have any obvious complications then a bed cannot be justified.

Generally there is no point in a scan at the time. That’s best done after the fact at an EPU to check everything has passed.

Instead of women being begrudgingly sent away from A&E where ‘I had a miscarriage because they didn’t do anything’,there needs to be greater education as to when people need to attend A&E.