Loss and Miscarriage

It’s Baby Loss Awareness Week, a time to honour the lives lost and the families forever changed by pregnancy and baby loss.

Sadly, 1 in 4 pregnancies end in loss during pregnancy or birth. Baby loss is a difficult experience for many families. Some women will go on to experience mental health difficulties.

Grieving is a normal reaction to a loss and is unique to each person. It is experienced in different ways. Many people grow to manage the feelings that come with grief; however, some people need support with their mental health, particularly when the symptoms of grief:

•  feel continuous and become harder to cope with over time
• become so intense and overwhelming that they significantly impact your day-to-day living
• cause an individual to experience symptoms including Post Traumatic Strss Disorder and /or severe depression

If you or someone you know is experiencing grief, trauma, or emotional distress following a pregnancy or baby loss, speak to your midwife, health visitor, GP or mental health service who can refer you to the right service for you.

NHFT’s Maternal Loss Psychology Service (MLPS) will be running drop-in events in Northamptonshire open to anyone seeking support, wanting to learn more about what help is available or simply wishing to connect and have a chat.

Visit the MLPS team for a chat at our drop-in events next week on Wednesday 15 October, between 10.30am and 1pm at:

• Northampton General Hospital, Area L, Maternity Day Unit
• Kettering General Hospital Maternity Ward, Rockingham Wing, Antenatal Outpatients

For more information visit: www.nhft.nhs.uk/maternal-loss/

It’s Baby Loss Awareness Week, a time to remember that the pregnancy and baby loss community is there for people every step of the way, during and after loss.

NHFT's Clinical Psychologist for the Maternal Loss Psychology Service, Dr Kirsty Harris featured on The MAMA Podcast recently, discussing the Maternal Loss Psychology Service in Northamptonshire and the wide range of support available for those who experience difficulties related to baby loss.

Whether you're grieving, supporting a loved one, or pregnant after loss, this conversation offers insight, compassion, and hope.

You don’t have to face this journey alone. Help is here.

You can listen to this podcast using the link below:
https://tinyurl.com/3ntszrdz

This is the name given to the loss of a baby during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. Miscarriages that happen before 13 weeks are known as early miscarriages, and those that happen between 13 and 23 weeks are known as late miscarriages.

Experiencing the loss of a baby at any stage is devastating – it doesn’t matter how far along the pregnancy was. Everyone copes with loss differently – there is no right or wrong way to cope with miscarriage. It is completely normal to grieve and need support to get through this difficult time, but some women and their partners may not feel that they need additional support. This is entirely your choice – your midwife will be there to support you and signpost you for any additional support you might need.

Unfortunately miscarriage is common, and thought to affect as many as 1 in 4 pregnancies. In most cases we don’t know exactly why a miscarriage happens, but it’s often due to chromosomal issues that mean the baby could never have developed properly. This means that it’s not your fault, and there’s nothing you could have done to prevent it. Most women who have a miscarriage can go on to have a healthy and normal pregnancy, but if you have experienced multiple losses, it’s a good idea to see your general practitioner (GP) to check whether there is an underlying problem.

Symptoms of miscarriage can include:

• Vaginal bleeding
• Abdominal pain
• Abnormal discharge

None of these symptoms mean that you’re having a miscarriage, but if you experience any of these
symptoms, you should seek medical advice:

• before 20 weeks of pregnancy: contact your GP, A&E or Urgent Care Centre
• after 20 weeks of pregnancy: call Northampton General Hospital maternity helpline on 01604 523529 or Delivery Suite at Kettering General Hospital: 01536 492878 or 492879

If you bleed heavily, you must go to A&E without hesitation.

Miscarriage is usually diagnosed by an ultrasound scan, although you may need other tests.Sometimes you may need to stay in hospital overnight, but you can usually go home the same day. NHS Miscarriage unit are here to provide you with whatever support you might need. 

This is the term for the loss of a baby after 24 weeks of pregnancy, and can happen before or during birth. Stillbirth is often linked to a problem with the placenta, which then causes issues with a baby’s growth, development and oxygen supply. There are other causes, such as pre-eclampsia, maternal haemorrhage (heavy bleeding), gestational diabetes, and other complications such as cord prolapse.

Experiencing stillbirth is traumatic for parents and their families, so we have specially-trained midwives to help and provide you with stillbirth support. The bereavement or baby loss midwives will first make contact with bereaved families while you are in hospital.

Once women are discharged from hospital, you will still receive routine midwifery care

We arrange additional visits, depending on individual personal requirements, from your team midwife and a specialist bereavement midwife / baby loss midwife. Further support continues by phone, text or email, remaining personalised to your needs throughout.

On some rare occasions a baby born alive may die in the first few hours, days or weeks of life. This may be because they are born extremely prematurely or have a known or newly diagnosed condition or illness and the baby is not expected to survive. Or this may be an unexpected death in the hospital or at home. Every situation is different. Babies who are born alive and die within the first 28 days of life are registered as a neonatal death.

The bereavement support midwives are here to support families during the first weeks and months of the baby passing away and can guide families to more long term support if needed.

Support and advice is also available from the following places:

• SANDs

• Tommy’s have lots of information about coping with loss, including a series of videos.
• BLISS is a charity for premature and ill babies – they have information on bereavement and a helpline.
• Cruse Bereavement Care is a national charity that supports bereaved people. They offer a helpline, and local services.
• The Miscarriage Association offers help and support to those affected by miscarriage
• When pregnancy goes wrong
• What happens if your unborn baby dies
• After a miscarriage
• Coping with stillbirth