Miscarriage: Support to be offered earlier under new guidelines

Olivia Blake said the proposed new guidelines were the "biggest reform to miscarriage care for 50 years"

An MP who suffered a miscarriage says proposed new guidance to support women who lose a child is a "huge step".

Sheffield Hallam's Olivia Blake backed the campaign by pregnancy charity Tommy's to get earlier help for women who miscarry.

New draft guidance from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists could see extra care offered from the first bereavement.

Currently, support is only offered after three consecutive miscarriages.

The new rules, which are undergoing a consultation, would see a gradual support system put in place following the first loss.

'Biggest reform'

Initially, people would receive advice with an appointment at a specialist clinic offered after a second miscarriage.

Women who lost a third child would be eligible for major investigation and care, such as blood tests.

Ms Blake, who joined the campaign after her own miscarriage in 2020, said the new guidelines were the "biggest reform to miscarriage care for 50 years".

She said she had been contacted by other women after sharing her story in November.

"I said then that I didn't want anyone else to have to go through what I went through. So to know that the days of telling women to simply 'go home and try again' are nearly over is truly amazing," Ms Blake added.

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Tommy's chief executive Jane Brewin said it was "great" to see the Royal College taking the charity's recommendations forward with the new guidelines.

She said: "The right care can reduce the risk of miscarriage, and the right support can help parents if they experience loss - but that help isn't reaching everyone across the UK after every miscarriage; this can and must change."

Musician and presenter Myleene Klass, who fronted a documentary about miscarriage, said she was "over the moon" with the draft guidelines.

She said: "It feels like we are finally starting to break the taboo around miscarriage and achieve real change."

The guidelines are due to be finalised by the end of 2021.