Miscarriage NHS at fault

[fudder]

Hi

Looking for a bit of advice. In 2003 I became pregnat with my third child. At 9 weeks I began to bleed and was sent to the hospital for an ultrasound. They told me that babies heart was still beating and sent me home. I got home and phoned midwife who sent me to the womans department where I was admitted and after an internal was told that I was miscarrying. The short story is they sent me home and said that the products of conception had been expelled. Next morning got up with awful stomach cramps and lost feotus on bathroom floor. Am I too late to take this further?

[Allyxia]

I think its three years, more if problems have arose due to their neglect but didnt come alight immediately.

Sorry for your loss - lost one myself heart breaking!!

Did pregs test - positive - started to bleed 4 days later, went for scan and bloods. They told me I wasnt pregs at all, something called a missed pregs when the egg fertislise but doesnt implant.

Think that hurt more than the loss.

To make matters worse 28 days I had a midwife phone to ask why I had not gone back for my 2nd blood test, told her I wasnt asked too as I was told it was a missed PREGNANCY. Insesative gits told me oh yes by the way you were pregs and you still need to come in for the blood test.

Great isnt it!!!

[lisamellor]

as much as its heart breaking losing a baby, i think that all the trouble of getting a law suit again the nhs would be just holding onto the pain even longer. it is common for women to bleed in the first trimester, and the usual is to give an ultrasound. and if the heartbeat was present then they would see it as ok. they dont usually give an internal ultrasound unless they need more detail as they cant see enough.

when i last miscarried i went for an ultrasound and they said the heartbeat was present which i saw myself. i ended up going for another 12 hours later and there was no heartbeat.

i think the best thing to do is to focus all your energy onto you kids, and not on a law suit that would take years and years to end and maybe not to your satisfaction.

good luck lisax

[trundlecat]

So sorry for your loss Fudder. The NHS are useless at caring for women in early pregnancy, it's a hit and miss lottery as to which hospital you go to (I've been at the mercy of it too). I don't know how far you'd get with a court case but if I were you I'd write to the Director of Midwives for the PCT in question, & get your case looked at & ask for answers as to why your care wasn't up to the standard it should have been.

[Bookworm]

What do you mean by "take it further"? The title of your thread seems to indicate that you are blaming the NHS for the miscarriage. At 9 weeks, IMO, you have no chance whatsoever to getting the blame apportioned to the care you got. If you were already bleeding (and I don't just mean spotting), the odds are that the miscarriage was already happening, and although you were told one thing and something else happened, it is not uncommon at such an early stage. About 15 to 20 percent of known pregnancies end in miscarriage, and more than 80 percent of these losses happen before 12 weeks. Therefore, if you are thinking in terms of lawsuit, I really don't think there is anything worth pursuing there.

Could have the situation been handled more sensitively? More than likely. Sadly, that will not make any difference.

Have you had any counselling? I am concerned that 3 years on, your very first post on this forum relates to this, which suggests you might have found it difficult to move on.

Please elaborate if I misunderstood what you were actually asking about.

[Rich44]

I agree with BW, over the last 18 months my partner had 2 miscarriages and sadly even if she had been in hospital receiving 1 to 1 care they would still have happened.

Sadly most of the time the reasons this happens is that there is some kind of problem with the baby and your bodys way of dealing with it is a miscarriage sadly, The term the NHS use (rather coldly) is Incompatible to life.

I think rather than dwelling on an early pregnancy loss which is more liable to do your mental health damage is to try to move on, talk to a centre near you

CAREconfidential Services: Miscarriage counselling

All the best for the future

[kazdoc]

I've just read some of the replies and I do have to agree with several. I really don't believe that there is a lawsuit here. Unfortunately there is nothing that you can do to stop a miscarriage. Most women are simply sent home to let nature take its course. It drives me mad when you hear of pregnant celebs being rushed into hospital, and the baby saved so early on. Its simply does not happen, Mother Nature rules on this one. Please, please speak to someone. there is The Miscarriage Association and also SANDS look at their websites for more advice and a little comfort. I lost 4 babies through miscarriage and on each one I was told several different things. Sadly the long hours, lack of staff and breakdown in communication leave us confused and at a loss. I wish you all the best x

even if there are a few weeks to go write a letter of complaint and see a suit. they should put you in the right direction and also get some counselling. as this is one of the best ways to put you in the right direction

[jennifer.mazzocchi]

Can anyone advise me as to whether they feel my daughter has a case against the NHS. My daughter was 12 weeks into her 3rd pregnancy (both previous pregnancies had been trouble free) when she started bleeding. She attended hospital and was asked to return the following day for a scan, which she did. At this appointment she was informed the baby had died and was given two options - 1) To be admitted to hospital or 2) To wait for 10 days and return for another scan to assess the situation. She returned in 10 days time - I was with her and mentioned that my daughter was reluctant to be admitted to hospital and have this procedure carried out and was informed that it was entirely up to her and the preference was for the "Product" to come away naturally. However, once the second scan had taken place, she was advised that she should come into hospital as an emergency - apparently, there was a risk of heavy bleeding and a lot of pain - something to do with what was surrounding the baby. She was examined and as the cervix was closed was informed she could go home and return the following morning. She was admitted the following day and underwent a general anasthetic and the "Product" was removed. She was discharged from hospital a few hours later, on the same day. She continued to bleed spasmodically and a few days later suffered severe stomach cramps, described by her as contractions. She returned to hospital and was examined and using forceps, something was removed from her. She recalls them placing it into a dish and a comment being made of "Send this to histology". She was readmitted to hospital and was questioned throughout the day about her blood loss. Later on in the day a consultant came to see her and said that she could go home and wait further or undergo another general anasthetic the following day and the procedure repeated. She opted to go home and return a week later for a scan. When she returned the following week, she asked if the histology reports had been returned and also asked the question as to whether what had been removed by forceps, had been the foetus. The answer was yes. Effectively, my daughter underwent a general anasthetic to remove the "Product" - it was missed and when she asked why this had happened she was told that it is because the doctors are being very careful during the procedure so as to not damage the womb etc. etc. This does not appear satisfactory and I would appreciate comments. Additionally, does anyone know if there is a draft letter to access my daughters medical records - she has records obviously held by her GP but due to another medical condition has been under two or three London hospitals. How would she go about obtaining all hospital and GP records? Thanks

[trundlecat]

OMG Jenifer. My heart-felt sympathies to your daughter & family, what an awful thing to go through, it must have been really upsetting for all of you.

I don't know anything about the legalities or cases against the NHS but re the medical records, our GP's has a standard form to fill in for access to records so it'd be worth giving yours a ring to see if they do the same.

TC

[poppynurse]

Fudder - I'm sorry for your loss but I don't think you have a case.

JM - I experienced a similarish problem in that they left part of the placenta in post delivery and I suffered a major haemmorhage a few weeks later - despite no documentation in my notes saying that the placenta had been checked, and despite me undergoing emergency surgery to save my life I still did not get anywhere with my claim - I just had four years of stress whilst it was ongoing. Think long and hard before embarking on a claim - it may be better for your daughters mental health to try and accept the loss and move on. If you still want to go for it ensure you find a solicitor who specialises in midwifery type cases.

[i_spam]

I am not sure but under the information of freedom act you can see what your gp is holding on you also you can do the same with the hospital. You have not said how long ago this was ?

[mazzab]

Hi.

Miscarriage and Early pregnancy problems are always really upsetting for the mums. I suspect that O&G staff can get a bit blase about it because it is so common and such a large part of what we do, so we can lose sight of the tragedy it is to each family. If we got that upset each time we would all go mad and have to give up work,, but thats a reason not an excuse - we should try and be sensitive and I hope most of us are most of the time.

20% of pregnancies miscarry and 99.9% of Miscarriages are NOT PREVENTABLE. As said above they happen for a reason, and you can't and shouldn't try to stop them because the foetus is never going to be a live healthy baby. The positive here is that you are FERTILE as a couple and will probably concieve again without too much trouble. Too many couples don't get told any of this when in hospital - I know because I was nearly always the only one who told people when I was a junior doctor in O&G.

The management of miscarriage is all about letting it complete so the womb is clear and healthy for another pregnancy later. The removal of "Products of conception" is done surgically by introducing a suction tube into the uterus and gently scraping all the way round. You can introduce a camera too, but that increases the risk of perforation - (bad news, may even lead to a hysterectomy in some cases )- so this is often not done.

Sometimes product will be left behind. this is a well known complication and should be considered if any further bleeding or symptoms of infection occur. If it happens but is picked up I think you have to say the doctors have done their best in a tricky situation. The case for negligence arises really when they miss the incomplete evac. having been given a reason to look for it and not doing so.

Yet again I think the problem in this forum is insensitivity and poor communication from hospital teams. I think in both cases a better explanation from a doctor who identified and responded to your concerns would have made this all make sense and left you feeling much less unhappy. I can't see much benefit in lawsuits here, but a complaint to the hospital patient liason service might help you understand what happened better, and might let the docs concened realise they need to go away and read "a communication handbook for doctors" by Peter Tate, or something similar.

Finally I hope you have both recovered from your ordeals, and that you can maybe start to look forward rather than back once this is sorted out.

[bally35]

Most of us ahve gone through the pain of miscarriage.I still think about the three that I have had.
Given my family history, I now realise that many of these pregnancies were not viable, and it is natures way ....
I do agree with Mazza, on the sensitivity issue.
Hospital staff need to realsi ewhat is routine for them is not routine for the patients involved and that these were babies to me.
What some do not understand, is that when we women get the two blue lines, we have named our babies, and can practically see them as children , grownups, with children of their own etc
That type of feeling is after all what makes us mothers.