Stories from the People’s Republic of Poland, from the times of concrete obstetrics – this is how you can describe the accounts of women who had miscarriages in the conditions of Polish health care in the last few years. At Thursday’s press conference, “As if the pain after losing a child wasn’t enough for me” the results of a survey on the experiences and needs of miscarriage women were presented, as well as recommendations of good practice in caring for this group of patients in Poland. The meeting took place at the Żoliborz Local Center in Warsaw.
From the report, which was extensively discussed by Joanna Frejus, a psychologist and president of the Sensitivity Foundation, and Izabela Markiewicz, a psychologist and doula, as well as Kamila Raczyńska Chomyn – a sex, menstrual and doula educator, overwhelming conclusions emerge. It turns out that one of the biggest problems in the field of miscarriages is the lack of information from the staff – with which the patient has been struggling from the very first moments after the pregnancy dies. Nearly half of those who experienced miscarriage (49 percent) did not receive proper and clear information on further medical management in connection with the loss of pregnancy.
Press conference of the Sensitivity Foundation photo. Tenderness Foundation
Research conducted by the foundation’s researchers also indicates that 30 percent of people experiencing a stillbirth experienced a lack of empathy from the staff of the medical facility. It should be added that the research was carried out after the Supreme Audit Office checked a number of Polish hospitals for stillbirths.
Already in 2021, it turned out that patients who had a miscarriage, stillbirth or whose child died immediately after giving birth in 2017-2019, were not provided with proper care. In 2019, perinatal care standards were also implemented. Unfortunately, the research of the Sensitivity Foundation shows that we are still in the woods when it comes to standards regarding the care of the miscarriage.
“Patients usually find out about pregnancy loss in two ways”
According to the report, patients of Polish hospitals who experience a miscarriage mostly encounter a lack of empathy on the part of employees. The respondents of the survey also pointed to the lack of respect from the medical staff – both to them and to the aborted fetus or stillborn child. Moreover, the problem is that they are not informed about their rights, such as access to psychological care in the event of a miscarriage or the right to bury a dead child.
– 40,000 people a year leaving the doctor’s office know that their pregnancy has died and they do not know what to do next. Almost none of these people receives information on where, how and on what terms they could use psychological support – noted Joanna Frejus during the Thursday meeting.
“Patients usually find out about pregnancy loss in two ways: during a routine ultrasound (42% of respondents) or as a result of disturbing symptoms, such as bleeding, as a result of which they go to the emergency room and have the necessary tests performed there (36% of respondents) ” – we read in the conclusions of the study.
“Nothing will come of this pregnancy”
Already at the stage of the gynecological office, the stairs begin, to put it mildly. Researchers collected accounts of women who had to deal with such behavior. All the respondents’ statements were quoted during Thursday’s presentation:
I just got a referral to the hospital. No explanation, no comfort, no sympathy. In the hospital, the doctor who performed the ultrasound said: ‘nothing will come of this pregnancy’
– confessed one of the surveyed women.
In most cases (as much as 64 percent) women, the only thing they can count on in the event of a stillbirth is a referral to the hospital. Only in 22 percent of cases, the doctor recommends the so-called. awaiting procedure for spontaneous abortion of the fetus. This is standard in Western European countries. According to 1/3 of the respondents, they did not receive enough time to come to terms with the information about the loss of pregnancy, which in turn affected the fact that they could not co-decide on further steps.
Press conference of the Sensitivity Foundation photo. Tenderness Foundation
The aforementioned 49 percent of women who did not receive any information regarding further management did not receive any information regarding the hospital management itself. The biggest problem, according to 30 percent of respondents, was the lack of any empathy and support. Only 5 percent of people were informed about the possibility of using psychological support.
What was missing during the hospital stay after miscarriage/ curettage procedure? The examples of women’s statements show, among others, that “information what’s next”.
I didn’t know what was going to happen to me all night and no one looked at me
Definitely psychological care. Instead, a priest was walking around the ward, and I must admit that was probably what annoyed me the most
– mentioned the interviewees.
Extremely stressful for women after miscarriage, curettage turned out to be a very traumatic experience for many of the respondents. Joanna Frejus and Izabela Markiewicz presented the memories of women who met with disrespectful and harmful behavior from medical staff:
In the emergency room there is no respect for dignity, intimacy and feelings. The nurse said with amusement, “Oh, another spoonful has arrived.”
– heard one of the respondents of the study.
The gynecologist, to my words ‘I would like to put it all behind me’, replied: ‘It didn’t just happen, I didn’t do it to you either, you had to be aware
– we read in the next cited quote.
He said it was my fault that the baby was dead because I definitely wasn’t taking folic acid and I’m fat (overweight 23 BMI). He kicked me out of his office right after that because he had more important live pregnancies to investigate
– was the confession of another examined woman.
Other quoted accounts of the survey respondents were, among others:
Before the curettage procedure, I cried in front of the doctor who yelled at me “what are you crying about?”. Then the nurse came up to me, grabbed my hand and told me not to be afraid that everything will be fine
After getting off the chair, where I found out on an ultrasound (about the death of pregnancy – ed.), she jumped out with a text that there is a nice cafe next to it and that I should go for a good cup of coffee as a consolation
Many women are also unprepared for what will happen immediately after the procedure.
A pain I wasn’t ready for because they said it was like menstruation. And when I called 112 they said I should take a diastolic nose
– said one of the study participants.
As mentioned above, women also faced disrespect for a dead pregnancy.
I remember the lack of respect for my stillborn child. If it wasn’t for my struggle, they’d have flushed it down the toilet
The language she used to say “have to scrape it out”
– mentioned the women quoted in the presentation.
“I flushed my baby down the toilet”
Sometimes all it takes is one person who behaves empathically, who notices the suffering
– said Joanna Frejus during the conference. She also pointed out that in the case of home miscarriage, Polish women most often drop the dead fetus into the toilet – because the lack of information from the doctor on how to deal with such a situation is common.
Press conference of the Sensitivity Foundation photo. Tenderness Foundation
– For example, that you can spit into your own bathtub or onto a medical pad (…). From women we heard, for example: I lowered my child into the toilet – stressed Joanna Frejus.
Patients don’t know what to do
Now a bit about numbers. According to the research of the Sensitivity Foundation, 37 percent of the respondents indicated that the whole procedure immediately after receiving information about the death of the fetus happens too quickly. Most of the respondents experienced a miscarriage in the last 2-3 years (32 percent).
The respondents, among the most difficult experiences from the moment of diagnosis and further treatment of the medical staff, also indicated the “consolation” of doctors that she would soon become pregnant again – 20 percent, and that “it’s good that it’s such an early pregnancy – 14 percent. 10 percent of the respondents experienced inconvenience during the examination when third parties, e.g. students or medical staff, entered the office without knocking.
Participants of the survey were also asked whether they felt treated with respect and properly cared for during the study. As many as 42 percent answered in the negative. In turn, 37 percent of the respondents emphasized that all procedures did not take place in a friendly, intimate atmosphere. 42 percent of women could not consciously decide what to do next after fetal death.
The patients were also asked: “Have you been asked about your needs and expectations, and the information in this regard has been used to support you during your stay in the ward?” As many as 69 percent said no.
And were women, for example, provided with exhaustive legal information on burial after miscarriage? As many as 55 percent have not even heard of it. 70 percent of respondents were not informed about the provisions of civil status records, and 76 percent did not. has not received any information regarding social security and labor law regulations regarding the situation of miscarriage – e.g. the possibility of going on maternity leave.
Recommendations
The study was carried out as part of the campaign “Sisters Aborting”. At Thursday’s meeting, the Sensitivity Foundation also presented the educational platform sisterronie.pl, the aim of which is to support women experiencing miscarriage. On the website you can find educational materials addressed to such people and their relatives.
The Sensitivity Foundation also presented a number of recommendations and recommendations that should be implemented as part of perinatal care for people who miscarry.
“By proposing a set of recommendations and good practices in the field of care for miscarriages in Poland, the Foundation wants to start a wide-ranging discussion on how to improve the standards of care for this group of patients in Poland” – emphasize the foundation’s activists.
The study was conducted on a target sample of 1,494 people with a miscarriage experience. The largest part of the respondents came from the Mazowieckie Voivodship. The most numerous age groups among the respondents were people aged 18-34 and accounted for 60 percent of all respondents, and people aged 35-44 (36 percent of all respondents).
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
