The GAU is a dedicated 24/7 assessment area for women with acute gynaecological problems and early pregnancy complications. HEFT has 2 units, one at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital and one at Good Hope Hospital. Elective and emergency work is done each day, this includes ultrasound scanning, assessments, investigations.
We offer 5 treatments of miscarriage care & 3 treatments for treating ectopic pregnancy, following the NICE recommendations and gold standard service.
The units also includes an early pregnancy unit and recurrent miscarriage clinic, where investigations are offered to see why the miscarriages are happening and support in subsequent pregnancies. The unit is dedicated to finding new causes and treatments to prevent miscarriage and is currently running 3 randomised controlled trials.
Clinical Nurse Specialists are trained nurse specialised in early pregnancy care. Our nursing staff are committed to early pregnancy care and work at a national level. Our lead Nurse specialist for the units is also the chair of the Association of Early Pregnancy Units, the first nurse to achieve this position. The AEPU sets standards in early pregnancy working closely with the RCOG, NICE & RCN.
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Approximately 1 in 6 pregnancies ends in miscarriage, it is a more common problem than most people imagine and can be a unhappy, lonely and distressing experience. 1 in 100 couples trying for a baby experiences recurrent miscarriages usually defined as 3 or more miscarriages in a row. Investigations aren’t usually offered to woman after 1 miscarriage, this is due to statistics showing their chances of a successful pregnancy next time are extremely good, suggesting their miscarriage were due to chance rather than an underlying cause. If a woman has 2 or more in a row statistics show it is more likely to be an underlying cause, so referral to the recurrent miscarriage clinic is advised for investigations.
The investigations include chromosomal analysis, immunological tests, hormonal tests, infection tests, sticky blood tests and pre-conceptual care. There are a number of less common causes of miscarriage, they are cervical weakness and uterine abnormalities (associated with later miscarriages), if appropriate these will be investigated. We believe in the clinic that all causes of miscarriage are not yet known therefore we strive to find causes in a safe way via research.
Once the investigations are completed the staff in the clinic will plan the best treatment for each individual patient, this also includes support in the subsequent pregnancy. After a pregnancy loss the anxiety experienced in the following pregnancy can be quite high. Staff in the clinic will offer you support by giving you ultrasound scans from appropriate gestations.
