Miscarriage support kits 'offer more compassion'

Medical kits offering "more compassionate care" to women experiencing pregnancy loss have been donated to the Isle of Man's main hospital.

The devices, called miscarriage collection cradles, have been provided to Noble's Hospital by charity Arlo's Adventure, which offers support to families who have lost a child.

Trustee Sarah Owen said the equipment, which can be attached to standard toilets, was a "practical way" people could be supported at a "highly emotional time".

Manx Care chief executive Teresa Cope said the move was "a small step" but feedback had shown it would "make such a big difference" to those affected.

The equipment was developed by Laura Corcoran from the Dignity Care Network in the UK following her own experience of miscarriage.

Each kit includes a removable collection point and container to allow for testing if necessary prior to burial or cremation.

Ms Owen, who founded the charity after losing her son Arlo at six weeks old, said "there aren't many ways that you can offer support through a miscarriage but people have told us they wish they'd had this cradle".

She said the device "gives people the opportunity to deal with the loss in the way they want to".

"It can mean the baby can be remembered in a much better way," she added.

According to Tommy's National Centre for Miscarriage Research, most miscarriages take place in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Ms Cope said the 2024 opening of the Bluebell Suite, a private room for parents experiencing miscarriage and baby loss, and the introduction of the cradles was about "understanding how we can do as much as we can as an organisation to be completely compassionate".

She said the changes had "come from patients' experiences and working with Arlo's Adventure to be able to put mechanisms in place which help that very difficult process just a little bit".

The kits would allow women the "ability to manage that as they wish, perhaps in their home environment, with dignity to preserve that loss", as "not everyone will want to experience that loss in a hospital setting", she added.

If you have been affected by pregnancy loss, details of help and support can be found at BBC Action Line.

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