MPs call for miscarriage care improvements

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One in four pregnancies ends in miscarriage, and one in five women will experience a miscarriage

Sir Tony Lloyd, the MP for Rochdale, has joined cross-party MPs in asking for improved commitments for miscarriage care and support.

The MPs have written to the Health Secretary, asking for commitments in the upcoming Women’s Health Strategy to end the 'three-miscarriage rule'. Currently, women are only entitled to support or care after their third miscarriage.

Last year the Minister responsible for Women’s Health committed to addressing this, stating the Department would include two of the three recommendations of The Lancet series “Miscarriage Matters” into the Women’s Health Strategy.

During that debate, Nadine Dorries MP, said: “Recommendation 1 was to ‘ensure that designated miscarriage services are available 24/7 to all, taking into account local conditions and resources.’ I am including recommendation 1 in the women’s health strategy as part of the work that we are doing specifically about those issues.

“Recommendation 3 is: ‘To acknowledge that miscarriage matters to parents and take steps to record every miscarriage in England.’ The story of the hon. Lady’s friend was disturbing, and recording and data are so important, so I am putting that recommendation into the women’s health strategy to be part of our review.”

In the letter, the cross-party MPs write: "Last year the Minister said that implementing this recommendation was not in the remit of the Strategy and would instead be left up to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

“We are pleased that the College has now consulted on a graded model and that it will be adopted in their guidance. However, we believe that leadership from the Government is necessary if we are to properly end the three-miscarriage rule.

“We would therefore like the Government to signal their support for this principle within the Women’s Health Strategy.” 

Mr Lloyd said: "One in four pregnancies ends in miscarriage, and one in five women will experience a miscarriage. The support women receive is not consistent nationally, and varies depending on where she lives and which medical setting she attends.

"Shockingly, before women can access support and receive tests to find out what causes the loss, they must currently experience three miscarriages in a row. This means women with undiagnosed underlying health issues are forced to go through multiple miscarriages, many of which may be preventable, before receiving treatment.

"Every woman should be entitled to receive care after every miscarriage. The government has previously said it would ensure this, but there are concerns that this will not make it into the upcoming Women’s Health Strategy to miscarriage care and support. I'm calling on the government to do the right thing, and to improve miscarriage care."