Giving women access to specialised care after their first miscarriage could prevent about 10,000 pregnancy losses a year across the UK, according to a study.
Currently, women in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are eligible for specialist care on the NHS for early baby losses after they have had a minimum of three miscarriages.
The charity Tommy’s has called for women to be eligible after one miscarriage, stating this could reduce the risk of future miscarriages and improve health outcomes for mothers.
The graded model of miscarriage care proposed by Tommy’s is already available in Scotland and the charity is calling for its implementation across the whole of the UK.
A study by Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research and Birmingham women’s hospital involving 406 women found a 4% reduction in the risk of future miscarriage for women on the graded model of care compared with the usual care, which would translate to a reduction of 10,075 miscarriages a year across the UK.
The graded model includes a nurse intervention after one miscarriage to provide advice on reducing risk factors such as low vitamin D levels and folic acid, alcohol consumption and caffeine intake.
Women who received the specialist care were 47% more likely to have a risk factor identified and get relevant advice to help prevent future miscarriages than women receiving the usual care, the study found.
Furthermore, among women who had experienced two miscarriages and received the specialised care, one in five were found to have thyroid dysfunction or anaemia, both conditions that affect pregnancy outcomes.
About one in four pregnancies ends in a miscarriage, mostly within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Kath Abrahams, the chief executive of Tommy’s, said women were being “left without early access to services that could help prevent future losses and reduce the debilitating feelings of isolation and hopelessness that we know affect so many who experience pregnancy loss”.
She said: “Our pilot study indicates that providing support after a first miscarriage, with escalating care after further losses, is not only effective but achievable without significant additional workload for NHS teams who are already working extremely hard to deliver good care. Put simply, it is the right thing to do. We will do all we can to drive that change across the UK so that more women and families are supported after every miscarriage.”
The report comes ahead of the long-awaited final findings of the government’s investigation into maternity care in England. The interim findings uncovered a multitude of failures, including that NHS hospitals that caused harm and injury to women and babies during childbirth often resorted to a “cover-up” of their mistakes, falsified medical records and denied bereaved parents answers.
The women’s health minister Gillian Merron said: “Pregnancy and baby loss can have a devastating impact on women and families, who too often feel they have been left without the care and support they need. I welcome the findings of this important report, and this will be carefully considered as part of our ongoing work to make sure women get the high-quality, compassionate NHS care they deserve.”
