The Lancet - 'The physical and psychological effect of miscarriage is commonly underappreciated.'

New research published by global researchers in The Lancet journal highlights the huge gap in terms of recognition and support for those who experience a miscarriage. This is incredibly validating for our community and the clear need for all of The Pink Elephants' early intervention programs and advocacy work. If as confirmed in this piece 23 million women experience a miscarriage each year (we suspect this number is much higher) then why is it that there are only a handful of support services globally addressing this HUGE gap?

"Having a miscarriage can also take a massive psychological toll, doubling the risk of depression and almost quadrupling the risk of suicide."

We need to do better, we need to validate the very real bereavement of our community, we need to provide a clear referral pathway for support ensuring no one feels alone and isolated in their grief. We have to put clear policies in place that provide bereavement leave for all those who are grieving the loss of their baby. We need to ensure we are equipped to have difficult conversations that offer validation, empathy and support to those heartbroken over the death of their baby. This is everybody's responsibility, those who are grieving should not need to advocate for their own needs.

Pink Elephants supports thousands of women and their partners and families each month in Australia. We saw an overall 63% increase in demand for our support services in 2020 and we are seeing this upward trend continue in 2021.

As a nation, we can no longer turn a blind eye to the very real poor mental health outcomes such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

"Miscarriage causes devastation to large numbers of couples in every country; there is silence around miscarriage from women and their partners, health-care providers, policymakers, and funders."

"The psychological consequences of miscarriage involve both trauma and bereavement, and these consequences might have little or no outward physical manifestation, so can go unrecognised by health-care professionals, family, and friends. This scenario occurs particularly in a society that views miscarriage as unimportant or shameful, thus leading to concealment of a pregnancy loss and its consequences."

At Pink Elephants, we see this play out every day, in our online communities where women feel safe they share the true impact that their loss is having on them. They take off their masks, brave faces and share their heartbreak, they are vulnerable with each other. We see that the shame and stigma so commonly associated with miscarriage start to be broken down. The silence is broken and little by little in support of each other they put each other back together and help each other to heal. There is further evidence from the UK into the power of peer support and it’s argued that matching specific types of social support according to key dimensions of a stressor will lead to more positive outcomes (Coulson et al)

“Connection is why we are here. We’re hardwired to connect with others, it’s what gives purpose and meaning to our lives and without it there is suffering.” Brene Brown. Pink Elephants provides meaningful connections to all those going through pregnancy loss, preconception after loss, and pregnancy after loss. We support along the whole journey not just for a moment in time.

"The physical consequences of miscarriage are well appreciated, but psychological sequelae less so." The taboo and silence that is pervasive around miscarriage feeds into this narrative that the loss can be minimised with comments like 'at least they know they can fall pregnant' or 'at least it happened early'. These are harmful to the mental health of our community these comments silence them from speaking their truth and seeking the support they need and deserve. We work tirelessly to change this narrative and to ensure women and their partners' experiences are met with support, empathy, and understanding which in turn are "acknowledgment of the trauma and distress felt" with miscarriage.

VALIDATION is key and another advocacy piece we are championing at Pink Elephants is LEAVE FOR LOSS. There is currently no provision in the Fairwork Act of Australia for a loss prior to 12 weeks, despite the fact that 98% of losses occur prior to 12 weeks. We are seeking an amendment to the bereavement/compassionate leave act to be inclusive of pregnancy loss. We are currently working with The AG Michaelia Cash and the Industrial Relations team to see this change tabled in parliament. MP Julian Simmonds has been instrumental in providing support for this campaign, after sharing his personal journey of loss and fertility challenges with Pink Elephants.

Pink Elephants has taken a robust evidence-based approach to the problem of miscarriage we always seek first to understand the diverse needs of our community who experience pregnancy loss to ensure our programs truly meet their needs. Whilst 23 million a year globally experience miscarriage each mother has her own journey, each parent has their own grief, as such each deserves access to bespoke personalised support that holds a safe space for their psychosocial needs. This is something we have made huge headway towards here in Australia, I am incredibly proud of this, it has by no means been easy for us. It has been incredibly challenging to build such an extensive organisation on quite literally a shoestring budget but we are driven by shared values that come from the lived experience of this very real trauma. As a leader I see what is possible and what needs to be done, but we can not do this alone everyone has a role to play, what is yours?

We address the gap in our healthcare system head-on without financial support from the government, we truly hope this will change this year in line with The National Women's Health Strategy, which identified the need for better models of care for miscarriage. We want to work with health care professionals, policy makers, workplaces and communities to drive positive change for our community of bereaved parents.

We also need support to empower our circle of support for all those that need it. If you can donate to empower our circle of support, you are directly supporting a woman and her family through the death of their baby, you are saying your baby existed, your loss is real, your bereavement is valid - https://www.pinkelephants.org.au/donations

Please share this article with your networks and help us to advocate for the needs of our community. If you'd like to reach out to me directly to collaborate or support please email [email protected]