Sheffield MP who had miscarriage criticises “cruel” system which denies women basic tests after baby loss

Olivia Blake, MP for Sheffield Hallam, has urged new Ministers in the Department for Health and Social Care to deliver on the promises of the last government to support those who have experienced a miscarriage. 

In a parliamentary debate on preventable baby loss last week (September 4), she specifically targeted the ‘three miscarriage rule’, which says that only after going through three miscarriages will there be a referral for tests to establish the cause.

The MP said: “This is an issue that is deeply personal to me, and I have spoken about it many times in the last five years. I am sad to say that I have not yet had my rainbow baby, but that does not stop the questions every single month for probably the last year, asking whether I am pregnant.

“I encourage colleagues not to ask women, because not only is it very rude but it can cause a lot of heartache for those who are struggling to conceive.”

Her speech comes as the Government awaits the result of a pilot to abolish the three miscarriage rule, and replace it with a graded model of care, which would see people get support from a healthcare professional, a mental health screening, and guidance and information after one miscarriage.

She said: “By all accounts, the number three was picked out of mid-air.

“It is cruel. We would not expect anyone to have three heart attacks before doing a basic test. It lays bare the sexism in our medical system that we would allow people to go through that so many times, and face so much loss and trauma, before giving them the answers they need to perhaps go on to have successful pregnancies.”

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The MP also criticised the lack of recording in medical notes and data-sharing between organisations which can lead to awkward and insensitive interactions with care and service providers.    She detailed one moment in 2020 when, months after suffering a miscarriage, she was called to the doctors for a flu vaccine “due to her pregnancy”.

“Miscarriage is common but that does not make it any less heartbreaking,” she said, “and often that leads women as well as men who have gone through it to face grief in isolation.

“We need to implement the findings of the Pregnancy Loss Review and roll out the new, successfully trialled model so that everyone has access to high quality and timely care.”