Pregnancy guidelines to tackle early complications
Friday June 22nd, 2012
The British National Health Service needs to provide consistent and better quality care for women who experience serious problems in early pregnancy, experts say today.
Pain and bleeding at this stage of pregnancy may herald miscarriage or an ectopic pregnancy.
It can be a "very frightening time" for a woman, according to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.
The problem of pain and bleeding affects as many as one in five women at this stage - and today NICE announced plans for the first guidelines on the topic.
Its proposals call for specialist assessment services to be available for women. And it calls for psychological support for affected women - including training of professionals in how to break bad news and to conduct sensitive communications.
Professor Mark Baker, of NICE, said: “When a pregnant woman experiences pain or bleeding in early pregnancy, it can be a very frightening time. It’s vital she receives sensitive, timely and effective care and support, especially if she goes on to lose her baby, either through miscarriage or an ectopic pregnancy.
"Ectopic pregnancies can also be potentially life-threatening for the mother if they aren’t diagnosed and managed effectively.
"Unfortunately at the moment, standards can vary across the country and some women may not be receiving optimum care, particularly those who have an ectopic pregnancy but do not exhibit obvious signs of pain or bleeding."
Tags: Childbirth and Pregnancy | NHS | UK News | Women’s Health & Gynaecology
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