32-year-old Katie Bonful from Dartford had two miscarriages in a year before welcoming her son Maximus, thanks to specialist surgery putting a stitch in her cervix to help her body hold onto a baby throughout pregnancy. Katie said: “As a Black mother, it’s really devastating that so many of us go through this without knowing why. I endured some very difficult years, battling depression and suicidal thoughts, struggling to understand why my babies kept dying.
Study author Arri Coomarasamy, Director of Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research and Professor of Gynaecology & Reproductive Medicine at the University of Birmingham, said: “Despite being such a major study, this is really just the beginning, with many more avenues to investigate – for example, the higher rates in Black women and the relationship with premature birth.
As well as standardising services across the UK to end the current postcode lottery, campaigners argue that miscarriage care must go beyond current best practice in terms of clinical tests and treatments to include long-term mental health support for both parents, and help should be offered after every loss instead of the current ‘rule of three’.
Considering the impact miscarriage has on physical and mental health, the study also calls for national miscarriage statistics to be routinely collected and published, which the UK already does for other losses such as stillbirth and neonatal death. Researchers say this data would provide a vital benchmark to improve from, and accelerate further studies and public health policy developments, to ultimately improve care and support for thousands of families.
Tommy’s CEO Jane Brewin said: “The variation in quality and availability of miscarriage care across the UK can lead to lifelong problems for families already enduring an unbearable experience; it shouldn’t matter who you are or where you live, and you shouldn’t have to endure repeated heart-breaking losses before you get the right help. Everyone should be given care and advice after each miscarriage to reduce the chance of it happening again, with specialist support for those most at risk.
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