"We felt alone and abandoned"

I began bleeding at 9 weeks pregnant and through out of hours surgery I was referred to the Early Pregnancy Unit (EPU) at early evening. I was left waiting in a corridor for an hour with my partner terrified and worried.

The doctor was really nice and examined me saying everything looked alright but they could not scan me. I returned to the department two days later to be scanned. At the scan the baby was measuring 6 weeks with no heartbeat.

The nurses and doctors could not look us in the eye or give us any inkling on what was happening. We were put in a separate waiting room after that so as not to be with other pregnant ladies. We left the department devastated knowing we would have to wait another week for a second scan to determine if the baby had died.

That day in incredible pain I phoned the EPU to be told I could not come in as they had no beds and to go to A&E. I sat in A&E for 4 hours fending off drunk people whilst in agony and very upset. The doctor requested bloods, a sample and pain medication to be given during this time. None of this happened.

Thankfully when we saw the doctor she was excellent, but again could not offer any help apart from pain relief. Two days later I miscarried and passed my baby. I had my baby in my hand when I phoned the EPU as instructed. I was told to take a paracetamol, monitor the bleeding and attend my scan as previously booked. At the second scan we discovered all the pregnancy had been passed. We were not given any support, leaflets or even condolences from the staff.

Myself and my partner had been trying for many years for this baby and it was my second miscarriage. We felt alone, abandoned and our pregnancy remained unacknowledged.

I do not want other women to feel unsupported during this type traumatic event. Staff could show more empathy, waiting times lowered and if nothing else parents should be given information on where they can go to for help and support.