Changing the miscarriage story

In June this year, the charity Tommy's (2021a) was recognised with an award from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (2022) for their 2021 ‘Miscarriage Matters’ campaign, a campaign that put miscarriage firmly on the UK government's agenda for the first time.

Miscarriage Matters was created to share new research published in The Lancet by the Tommy's National Centre for Miscarriage Research with the public and to show the government exactly what needs to be done to change the story for the hundreds of thousands of families who experience miscarriage every year (Tommy's, 2022a). The goal was to improve care and support and save thousands of babies' lives.

It is conservatively estimated that there are 250 000 miscarriages in the UK every year. One in five women will experience the heartbreak of miscarriage at least once (Tommy's, 2022a). This is only an estimate because miscarriages occurring at any time during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy are not officially recorded (NHS, 2022a). There is no central record and no certification for parents to mark a loss. Without knowing the full scale of the problem, it is hidden, and research and treatment are not prioritised as a result.