- Conference
- 2019 National Women's Conference
- Date
- 23 October 2018
- Decision
- Carried
For every woman pregnancy is the start of a new chapter full of emotional ups and downs. Making plans for the future as a family, the excitement and anticipation of waiting for the pitter patter of tiny feet. Whether this is their first pregnancy or not, all women will be anxious until their baby is born and this is multiplied for women who have difficulty conceiving or have previously miscarried.
NHS UK estimates that 1 in 8 women who know they are pregnant will miscarry. Many more miscarriages will occur before a woman is aware she is even pregnant and losing three or more pregnancies in a row (recurrent miscarriages) is uncommon and affects 1 in 100 women. The estimated UK miscarriage rate is 250,000 each year and about 15% to 20% of all women with a verified pregnancy will end up having a miscarriage. Eighty percent of these miscarriages will occur in the first trimester, the risk of pregnancy loss after 12 weeks is estimated to be 3% to 4%. After 20 weeks, when a loss would be termed a stillbirth rather than a miscarriage, the risk is around 1 in 160.
A miscarriage can have a profound emotional impact, not only on the woman herself, but also on her partner, friends and family. This impact can be felt immediately after the miscarriage but in some cases it can take several weeks, and women affected by miscarriage may go through a bereavement period and it is very common to feel tearful, sad, lonely and empty. You may also feel a sense of guilt, shock and anger – sometimes at a partner, or at friends or family members who have had successful pregnancies. Miscarriage can also cause feelings of anxiety or depression, and can lead to relationship problems.
For working women there is the further problem of how their employer handles this. Under current legislation a working woman who suffers a miscarriage less than 24 weeks will be dealt with under the company’s normal sickness process. They not only have the emotional impact of what has happened but also the worry that they will be progressed through the sickness process or, worse case scenario, dismissed.
Conference calls upon women’s committee to
1)Work with labour link to lobby both the labour party and government to remove or reduce the 24 week period.
2)Work with labour link and the national executive committee to look at a national campaign.
3)Work with the national executive committee and the Unison’s health service group executive committee to create a National Unison Policy looking at best practice.