UP to one in five pregnancies end in miscarriage but many women suffer in silence, according to a La Trobe University academic.
Midwifery professor Susan McDonald said the miscarriage rate might be higher than 20 per cent because it was believed that early pregnancies might end without the woman being aware of the pregnancy.
She said it could be a “lonely time” for women who miscarried.
“Friends, family and co-workers often feel anxious about broaching a sensitive topic for fear of upsetting a woman or saying what they perceive might be the wrong thing, not realising that for some women saying nothing makes them feel as though the loss is not important,” she said.
Ms McDonald said 80 per cent of miscarriages happened in the first 12 weeks, and could be devastating. “The hopes, dreams and plans that begin to be made can come to a cruel and devastating end with the loss of the pregnancy,” she said.
“It may also occur at a time in the pregnancy when the woman has not told a lot of people, therefore friends, family, work colleagues may be unaware of the loss and the accompanying sorrow and emotional pain the woman is experiencing.”
She said women and couples often looked for a cause.
“This often manifests itself as guilt about what may have happened such as they went for a run up a flight of stairs, ate a meal that was too spicy or had an argument; none of which are known to be causes at all, but there is a need to make sense of the loss.”
Read a Mernda woman’s story about her unborn twins – Page 8
