Miscarriage Care

Lord Patel Excerpts

Monday 18th May 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

The 10-year women’s health strategy is absolutely focused on ensuring that services and support are available equally, no matter where people live. They are variable, and that is not where we want them to be. I have just spoken about the bereavement services, for example. As of January this year, all ICB areas are expected to provide a seven-day-a-week bereavement service across maternity settings. That was not in place earlier, and it gives a sense of the trajectory.

[Lord Patel (CB)]

My Lords, in an era of more personalised medicine, it is important to note that the care of women who have miscarried is dependent on several factors: the gestation age when miscarriage occurs, the age of the mother, and any existing diseases. It is not just about the number of miscarriages the mother has had when the investigation starts. There should be more personalised aftercare for every mother who loses a baby.

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I hesitate to say “of course”, but the noble Lord is of course right. As I mentioned earlier, there is a range of reasons why miscarriage may be taking place. It therefore requires that whole-system approach, but also the life-course approach that I spoke of. I am also glad that through our research arm, the NIHR, we are funding research through Tommy’s, which we have spoken about already, on the beneficial effects of progesterone, to give one example. It is important that we continue, as we are doing, to invest in this research.