Miscarriage Clinic in London
The Recurrent Miscarriage Clinic at St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington
Nov 18, 2007
The recurrent miscarriage clinic (RMC) at St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London, UK sees over 1,000 women each year who are suffering from, or have suffered the agonizing road of recurrent miscarriage. Among these women, they have achieved a subsequent pregnancy success rate of 80% and the clinic boasts being largest in the world.
Its head, Professor Lesley Regan, attributes its high success rate to new research, tests and treatments available.
However, health and safety officials have declared the buildings not up to standard and have ordered the closure of the clinic. They say that they cannot provide the funds for a new clinic for another eight to ten years and the only way it can remain open is if the hospital raises £1 million.
This is a tall order for Professor Regan, who said: 'I don't have time to wait for a new hospital to be built and some of my patients who are in their forties have even less time.'
She has dedicated her career to the unit and even felt guilty when she became pregnant with twins in 1993, because of the number of women she treats with miscarriages. Her daughters, Jenny and Clare, are now 14. When her children were a year old, she was appointed as Chair of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at St. Mary's.
Although supportive of IVF, she is worried that couples will just think they can put off having babies till their late thirties and forties and then if they have difficulty, just get the magic cure of IVF.
'“We seem to be educating people to believe that they can have a career and then buy IVF or egg donation. It makes having a baby seem like a commodity. And so many of the treatments don’t work. IVF is only effective in 17 to 20 per cent of women.'
The figures she quotes are for women under the age of 36. Over this age, the odds decrease even further and if you're over the age of 40, you only have a 5% of becoming pregnant using IVF techniques.
Now Professor Regan has launched the 'Buy a Brick' campaign to raise money to keep the Recurrent Miscarriage Clinic open. The public can buy a brick in the entrance hall of St. Mary's Hospital for £250 and have their name inscribed on it.
For those who can't spare as much as £250, there is also an online donation site where you can give smaller amounts.
If you would like to buy a brick and help save the clinic, or make a donation, go to Save The Baby Unit.
