Rural Women’s Heartbreak: Devastating Miscarriage Care Gaps Exposed in Bombshell Report
- Rural women are 60% more likely to experience perinatal death than city-dwellers, sparking urgent calls for better care.
- Pregnancy loss charity Pink Elephants Support Network reveals “doubly isolated” rural women face delays in treatment and inadequate emotional support.
- Shocking testimonies from women who’ve suffered miscarriages highlight the desperate need for improved care in rural communities.
A harrowing report has blown the lid off the shocking miscarriage care gaps plaguing rural Australian women. The Pink Elephants Support Network’s explosive findings have sparked urgent calls for the federal government to prioritise care for women in regional areas.
Women in remote areas are a staggering 60% more likely to experience perinatal death compared to their city counterparts. The report, which includes heart-wrenching testimony from women who’ve suffered miscarriages, paints a damning picture of a system that’s failing rural women.
“Women are having multiple recurrent pregnancy loss and they are falling through the cracks of the system,” Pink Elephants Support Network co-founder and CEO Samantha Payne said. “No-one is checking in on them to see if they’re OK emotionally, psychologically.”
Catherine, a mother of one from Central West New South Wales, has experienced the devastating reality of rural miscarriage care firsthand. She’s suffered three missed miscarriages since 2023, with delays in treatment exacerbating her trauma.
“It’s pretty devastating,” Catherine said. “You go in with the usual worries, but then the hopes and the excitement, and then for them to not be able to find a heartbeat… The first time it happens you try and rationalise it – ‘it was probably better this way, it might have been harder if I heard a heartbeat and then lost it.’ By the third one it’s the dread of going in for the scan in the first place.”
Perinatal psychology specialist Lucy Frankham, based in Ballina, echoed Catherine’s concerns. “I’m aware of women who have accessed emergency departments who haven’t been able to confirm they’ve been having a miscarriage and have been sent away to wait for a private ultrasound the following day,” she said.
The report identifies five key areas for reform, including national care standards, continuity of care models, trauma-informed communication, culturally safe support, and digital-first peer services. With more than 40% of midwifery centres in rural areas closing since the early 1990s, the situation is critical.
Federal Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care Rebecca White acknowledged the government’s investment of $5.5m over four years to enhance miscarriage support services. However, rural women like Ashlea Russell, who lives in Port Douglas, say more needs to be done.
“To get help up here is a lot more difficult than anywhere else,” Ashlea said. “You’re very limited for doctors, fertility treatments – there’s not many options. I just think these rural areas need to not be forgotten.”