March 2021 Update
Each woman’s experience and way of coping with loss following miscarriage is unique
Grant P Cumming, member of Scottish Early Pregnancy Network and Project Partner for Ritual Respect
Ritual Respect is a collaborative project with women, consultants, midwives, nurses, counsellors, and charities. The project’s aim was to inform through co-designing, ways (including digital) to support health professionals and empower women to approach wellbeing around miscarriage from a person-centred perspective building on previous work from the Scottish Early Pregnancy Network (SEPN).
It was conducted by the Innovation School at The Glasgow School of Art in collaboration with NHS Grampian and funded by the Digital Health and Care Institute. Overall insights from the project highlight that each woman’s experience and their way of coping with the loss following miscarriage is unique. A one size fits all pathway is inadequate for providing care and support and a tailored approach is therefore required.
The project identified five key areas to focus on for future emotional wellbeing
1. Being prepared: Increasing awareness on early pregnancy loss and training health professionals is key for being prepared and managing expectations.
2. Time and space to grieve: Ensuring early emotional support soon after diagnosis of miscarriage is crucial and sets the tone for the rest of the care journey.
3. Emotional support: Provide health professionals the time and tools to create tailored care plan for the woman, which includes local support and access to information in their own time.
4. Remembrance: Empower women to make personal choices around remembrance and ensure access to physical, digital and symbolic services and platforms.
5. Hope for future: Ensure all women have the freedom to choose support for bereavement, counselling and planning future pregnancies based on personal needs.
You can learn more about Ritual Respect on Glasgow School of Art's Future Health and Wellbeing website and download the project report.