Media release: EPLC welcomes first RANZCOG clinical guideline for miscarriage

The Early Pregnancy Loss Coalition welcomes the publication of the country’s first comprehensive clinical guidelines for the treatment of miscarriage from member organisation, The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG). 

“Miscarriage, Recurrent Miscarriage and Ectopic Pregnancy (C-Gyn 38) Clinical Guideline” is aimed at members of the college – gynaecologists and obstetricians – but can be used by any health professionals as a benchmark for best practice medical care.

It includes information of treatment for early pregnancy loss, including miscarriage, recurrent miscarriage and tubal or non-tubal ectopic pregnancy up to 14 weeks gestation.

The guideline was approved in March by RANZCOG’s Women’s Health Committee and Council. 

“We are extremely grateful to the college for the development of this guideline which we know will go a long way to supporting its members in the treatment of miscarriage and identifying best practice,” said EPLC Executive Director and Co-Founder Isabelle Oderberg. 

“Early pregnancy loss is widespread; it affects up to 150,000 Australian families a year and is the most common pregnancy “complication”. 

“RANZCOG has consistently shown its commitment to improving care for those who experience the loss of a pregnancy in its early stages, a loss which has, in the past, been subject to far too much silence and erasure. Thank you to everyone involved in the document’s development.”

RANZCOG President-elect and EPLC member representative Dr Nisha Khot said, “The early pregnancy loss guidelines are for all health professionals who provide early pregnancy care. They are a first step towards ensuring early pregnancy loss gets the attention and funding that has been ignored for far too long.”

While the guideline’s scope was clearly defined, the EPLC is also hopeful that future iterations of the document will be expanded to include early pregnancy loss treatment guidelines specific to marginalised groups such as gender diverse patients and comprehensive mental health management.

The document can be found here: 
https://ranzcog.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/Miscarriage-Ectopic-Pregnancy.pdf

For any queries or interviews, please email info@eplc.au.