Miscarriage in Australia: The geographical inequity of healthcare services

Complications in early pregnancy can lead to pregnancy loss (miscarriage) and ultimately the presentation of a woman to their local emergency department (ED). Miscarriage is a common occurrence, with one in six pregnancies resulting in pregnancy loss.(1) Unfortunately medical and nursing care does not change the likelihood of a threatened miscarriage progressing to pregnancy loss; this is a highly emotional and stressful time for the woman and her family. Research has shown that women have often felt dissatisfied with the care provided in the emergency department and have reported lower levels of satisfaction (Geller et al., 2010(2), Indig et al., 2011(3)). This paper explores the challenges in the provision of emergency department healthcare for women presenting to metropolitan EDs and compares these to those faced by women who present to non-metropolitan EDs with early pregnancy complications.