Miscarriage heartbreak for mum after hospital sends her home

Stacey Wickens, 21, was three months pregnant when she lost her baby on Monday, January 2, after visiting the A&E departments at both Eastbourne DGH and the Conquest Hospital in Hastings. She was refused a scan and told she was fine.

Miss Wickens was a high-risk pregnancy due to having had five miscarriages in the past, but she says this is the furthest into a pregnancy it has happened. The mother of one said: “Everything was going well. But I started to bleed on New Year’s Eve.”

As she couldn’t get to Hastings’ maternity ward, she went to Eastbourne DGH where she says she was made to wait for hours and refused a scan. She said: “They didn’t take my blood pressure or anything. They said they couldn’t even give me a scan to see if my baby was okay. I knew I was losing the baby, I could feel it.”

Later, Miss Wickens was able to make it to Hastings where she was diagnosed with a threatened miscarriage – when bleeding occurs but pregnancy continues – but was told the earliest they could book in a scan would be January 4. They sent her home but when the bleeding got worse, she phoned Brighton Hospital where the maternity ward told her to get there straight away.

Miss Wickens made it to Brighton hospital but sadly she lost the baby on January 2. She said: “I can’t thank them enough for the service, but the fact that I had to go to Brighton to get it is disgusting. I don’t think another woman should experience what I have been through.

“I saw its heartbeat. My son was really looking forward to having a sibling.”

Catherine O’Callaghan, Interim Head of Midwifery, said: “A miscarriage is a distressing time for any woman and my sympathy goes out to Stacey for her loss at this sad time.

“Women in the early stages of pregnancy with bleeding are not routinely scanned as there is no treatment we can offer that would change the outcome of a threatened miscarriage.

“However, we appreciate how distressing this experience can be and I would like the opportunity to discuss the issues she has raised. If she calls me on 01323 435886 I will arrange to see her and her family.”

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