More units dedicated to women presenting with miscarriage are needed

doi:10.1136/bmj.324.7352.1526

BMJ 2002;324:1526 ( 22 June )

Letters

More units dedicated to women presenting with miscarriage are needed

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR $---$ Luis et al report that most women with miscarriage choose expectant management and that over 80% will require no surgicalintervention.¹ Their population was monitored for up to 46days, with 60% of all miscarriages and 72% of missed or anembryonicpregnancies requiring follow up for over one week. They concludethat as complications were minimal patients should be encouragedto persevere with expectant management. These results look promising,but two important issues $---$ the role of the dedicated miscarriageunit and infective morbidity $---$ wereoverlooked.

Expectant management is attractive. It gives the couple time to come to terms with their loss and avoids the risks of surgicalevacuation. As 15% of pregnancies miscarry, a move towards communitycare has important implications for the health service. However,psychological support and preservation of future fertility areimportant for women with miscarriage. Most of Luis et al's patientsstill had retained . . . [Full text of this article]

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Relevant Article

Outcome of expectant management of spontaneous first trimester miscarriage: observational study: Ciro Luise, Karen Jermy, Caroline May, Gillian Costello, William P Collins, and Thomas H Bourne
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