Managing Miscarriage: Room for Improvement

Although miscarriage is the most common complication of pregnancy, few studies have characterized the factors that patients and clinicians find important in the management of this difficult event. Investigators used a mixed-methods design involving demographic and psychosocial surveys as well as in-depth interviews of 55 clinically stable patients with first-trimester fetal demise or anembryonic gestations who were seen at clinical practices and the emergency department at the University of Pennsylvania. In these interviews, patients outlined the factors influencing their preferences and decisions. Fifteen obstetrician/gynecologists were interviewed about the factors affecting the counsel they provided.

Before receiving counseling, 55% of pa…