'It's not just a pap-smear': Women speak of their experiences of hospital treatment after miscarriage

Alexis McLean, Catherine Anne Flynn

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

24 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This exploratory study sought to investigate how a small sample of self-selected women attending hospital for a miscarriage in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy experienced the treatment they received. Six women who had a miscarriage between June 2006 and December 2007, and sought treatment at six Melbourne metropolitan hospitals, participated in semi-structured interviews during August-September 2008. Thematic analysis revealed that participants perceived hospital responses to miscarriage to be inadequate. Findings suggested that there was no consistent response, there was little compassion or acknowledgement of the miscarriage and that information provision was largely absent; social workers were rarely involved. Participants indicated that they wanted a more consistent and specialized hospital response, with timely access to diagnostic testing equipment as necessary, the offer of social work, information provision and staff to be compassionate in their care and to acknowledge their pregnancy loss.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)782 - 798
Number of pages17
JournalQualitative Social Work
Volume12
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013

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