What to expect from NHS after 3 miscarriages

[Steffi12]

Hi all,

Earlier this week I’ve sadly had my third miscarriage😓 Ive been told a referral will be made for me now and should expect to hear in the next 8-12weeks. I’m just not sure what to expect and was wondering if anyone had any input?
Im also just so worried there is something unfixable, like something genetically wrong with either me or my husband or both, so any positive stories are welcome. I just can’t shake the worry of how can this happen 3 times in a row randomly.
Im 32 now and have been TTC for 2years so also can’t help but feel time is marching on xx

I'm Irish so can't give advice for the NHS, but I'm currently on the waiting list for the recurrent miscarriage clinic after 2 consecutive losses (had a d&c nearly 3 weeks ago). I'm 30 years old.
Apparently they can't start investigations until 8 weeks after your pregnancy ends so I went and got bloods done with my GP this week to kickstart things but everything came back clear. I'm also getting a colonoscopy done in a couple of weeks to rule out any stomach/bowel conditions. Once I am seen by the miscarriage clinic I can show them my reports which will hopefully make things a bit quicker when I am seen. I believe they test for thyroid conditions in the miscarriage clinic but I've had that tested this week and it's fine, so they probably won't test that in the clinic.
I am so sorry you are going through this. It's so so tough and I have been feeling the exact same way. I keep being told it's probably just bad luck but I can't shake the feeling that something is wrong. Hopefully we both won't have any more. Sending lots of love ❤️

Hi @Steffi12 I am so sorry for ur losses…I totally understand you…I am having my 3rd miscarriage too this week…it was a MMC so waiting for another scan on Monday to decide what’s the best way to start the process…
i got referred to recurrent miscarriage clinic after my second one and they ran exams such blood clots, thyroid, antibodies, lupus, vitamin D, protein C and S, antithronbin…
I haven’t had any genetic test yet but I think will do that this time around.
i am very sorry for what u are going through…one thing I can tell u not to think of ur age as a limitation…honestly in these days I am seeing women much older than me (I am 36) having healthy pregnancies…age is really a factor that doesn’t count despite what all the science says.
hope ur next pregnancy is ur beautiful rainbow baby 🌈🙏🏽🩷

Thank you so much for your reply ❤️ I’m so sorry to hear about your losses 😓 hope you are recovering as well as you can after your latest treatment. Yes I’ve been told that I’ll hear about my referral in the next 8-12 weeks. I did ask if I should be trying not to get pregnant before then but they just said to carry on as normal. I won’t be tracking for atleast this first cycle mind as I feel like I need a break.
After my second loss I did go to the GP and managed to get some bloods out of them, a basic profile and clotting. Although to be honest they were very reluctant to help I had to fight for those tests! They also all came back clear.
It’s just waiting and the unknown now which is so difficult isn’t it.
I am also so sorry you are going through this too and sending lots of love 💐
I really hope we don’t have anymore and that is is just bad luck❤️ xx

Thank you for your reply❤️ and I am so sorry you are going though this too 😓 my first 2 were MMCs, this time even though bleeding for 1.5weeks and then passing the pregnancy was very traumatic, my MMCs were such a blindside as I just found out at scans so I really hope you are holding up okay.
In my area they were very reluctant to help me after my second. I managed to get some bloods out of my GP which was a struggle! But did have a basic blood test and clotting profile which were all normal.
Thank you also for the age reassurance ❤️ as that’s been leaving me feel a little hopeless
I’m also so sorry your going through this too, it truly is awful and also hope you too get your rainbow baby 🌈✨ xx

I'm so sorry for your losses. I had blood tests done through my EPU and got referred to the recurrent miscarriage clinic at the hospital after having 3 MMCs. They did all sorts of bloods (listed by a previous poster) and also arranged an internal ultrasound to check the shape of my uterus. After my third loss I have also had genetic testing done on the remains as I had surgical management. That came back showing trisomy 15 was the issue, so genetic. Me and my partner have had blood tests done and sent off to the specialist genetics lab to see if either of us is a carrier, but it's a low percentage chance apparently, most of the time genetic issues are just bad luck. Takes 8-10 weeks for those results which I'm about half way through.

I’m so sorry for your loss.

I do want to say do not believe the nhs when they say 8 - 12 weeks.

ive been waiting since 3rd of April after my last miscarriage and I haven’t heard anything from a single soul.

I can’t advise you anymore than that, I just don’t want you to get your hopes up in thinking it will be in the short time frame x

So sorry to hear about your MCs too 😓 thank you for all the information. I’ve had the ultrasound but didn’t really hear much about it but they did say to ring my GP. I have a bicornate uterus which was found during my first MMC, but no one has really discussed the severity of it.
I also sent our second for genetic testing after surgical management but didn’t hear anything back, they said if we didn’t hear they didn’t find anything. I’ve requested the third to be sent too but I lost this one much earlier at 5 weeks so I’m sure they were tiny and unsure if the testing will be accurate. Thank you for sharing your experiences, so sorry your going through this too, hope we have our triple rainbows soon 🤍 xx

So sorry for your losses 😓

And I’m so sorry you still haven’t heard anything about being referred that really is awful. I cant fault any of the treatment I’ve had during my MCs, the doctors and nurses were all amazing, but I really think the system is horrendous. In my area they have refused help until I had to go through this again which has made me quite angry I’ll be honest. I tried so many avenues after my second and pleaded for help but nothing. Can’t believe they’ve left you still waiting.

Hope you hear soon and have your rainbow🤍xx

It’s a really shitty system that the nhs have in place, you have 3 miscarriages then they will deal with all the testing.

I had to argue with my GP to have a FBC done through them for them to say ‘well nothing will come up as an issue your better off waiting for the miscarriage clinic’ so I argued until I finally got through to them that regardless of whether it may come back as nothing is wrong and I don’t have anything wrong with me physically e.g vitamin deficiency’s that could be causing the issue, we will not know until I find out through having the tests and it will put my mind at ease to know it’s nothing to do with something I could be taking to be healthier eg. Multivitamins and so on
they did the full blood count in the end and told me I have a vitamin D, iron and folate deficiency.
but all my thyroid, kidney and liver levels have come back absolutely fine, some a little high but in the normal range still, so now I know I can take all the multivits and change any habits I have to help improve my overall health, eating more food with folate and iron in them and so on.

now I have to wait still for the miscarriage clinic to come back to me, at first I was happy enough with it because they said 8 - 12 weeks (well I wasn’t happy because they’ve told me I can’t try for 8 - 12 weeks, which I said I’ve been trying for 16 months with 3 miscarriages you can see how wanted those babies were, and they was like yeahhhh well you have to wait.
you can’t go on any contraception that will give you false hormones and still 4 months later, im at the bottom of that waiting list with no other correspondence from them.

you can ask for karyotyping after 2, realistically Tommys says you can get checked out after 2 miscarriages.
but the NHS are still not following that guideline, sadly they don’t have the facilities to, they don’t have the staff or the time. They’re already really behind with people who have gone through 3+.

it’s a shame really x

@LER2023

The rule of 3 really is terrible. I’m so sorry you had to fight the GP so much for the bloods but glad you got some answers and are able to make some changes that hopefully will help.

We’re similar, we have been trying for nearly 2yrs in total and had 3 MCs. So that also frustrates me as if we had been trying for a year with no success that would have warranted investigations.
Turns out I’m one of the lucky ones, my EPU said it will be 8-12 weeks before I hear and I’ve had a letter through for an appointment in 7 weeks time. I’m so sorry you’re still at the bottom of the waiting list it’s horrendous. The postcode lottery of it all is also so unfair.
I also asked about what I should do while waiting for the appointment, like trying to avoid pregnancy but was told to carry on as normal. If I get pregnant before my appointment to ring them, unsure what they would do then.

I also spoke to tommys about a referral after my second and they said I was eligible but needed my GP to sort the referral. My GP refused which was very disheartening. But could you maybe speak to them again to see if you can have a referral there and hopefully your GP will help if needed?

Im so sorry you’re going through this too. It really is heartbreaking and so frustrating how little
help there is as ‘it’s really common’ a phrase I hate. It isn’t common for us

Hope you’re doing okay 💐 xx