The Good Life Medic

20/11/2023

The time following pregnancy loss can be a very lonely place.

Miscarriage remains taboo in our society. It tends to be seen as 'unfortunate', rather than the bereavement that it is.

'At least it was early....'
'It just wasn't meant to be...'
'There's always a next time...'

What may be early to others, can be a lifetime to us. As soon as those 2 lines appear on the pregnancy testing kit, we start planning for our babies' futures. We see birthdays and their first Christmas.

These feelings that many people, of all genders, experience are often ignored or belittled. In my experience, this is rarely through intention, but through lack of understanding or a knee-jerk reaction from someone who feels uncomfortable and doesn't know what else to say.

When we hear them, we stop talking....because, although well meant, they are painful to hear. We isolate instead. And lose the benefit that we could have had from sharing our stories with others. And they, in turn, lose the benefit of our experience and wisdom.

So I am here today, saying I get it. And I understand the importance of talking about pregnancy loss, to allow us to process our feelings.

If I am talking to you and you are ready to talk about your experience of pregnancy loss, book on the link below for a free chat.

https://tidycal.com/hannahcoysh/30-minute-meeting

18/11/2023

Did you know?????

Every year in the UK, there are an estimated 250,000 miscarriages and 10,000 ectopic pregnancies.

The psychological impact of these are often overlooked and there are concerns that this is a hidden public health issue.

The Psychological Impact of Early Pregnancy Events study from Tommy's National Centre for Miscarriage Research is looking to address this. They have conducted a study in which 492 women seen at three hospitals in London were asked to complete a survey 1 month after early pregnancy loss. 87 women with health pregnancies acted as a comparison group.

Researchers assessed women for anxiety, depression and PTSD, using recognised assessment scales and found that at 1 month following pregnancy loss;
❇29% had PTSD, compared to none with healthy pregnancies.
❇24% had anxiety, compared to 13% women with healthy pregnancies.
❇11% had depression, compared to 2% in women with healthy pregnancies.

At nine months, the psychological impact was lessening, but ongoing;
❇18% had PTSD
❇17% had anxiety
❇6% had depression
whilst none of the women with healthy pregnancies were impacted.

Although the numbers, particularly in the comparison group, are fairly small the hope is that this research will prompt better support for women and their partners following miscarriage.

The researchers suggest that women should be screened for significant psychological effects three months after a pregnancy loss, although guidelines have not changed as yet.

Further research is planned into the use of trauma focussed CBT for the treatment for PTSD associated with pregnancy loss. I look forward to following this over the next few years.

17/11/2023

Hello! I'm Hannah. I'm an NHS GP, a Macmillan GP and a Lifestyle physician.

I provide specialist support to grieving GPs to enable them to manage their feelings about their pregnancy loss so that they can start looking forwards and not back.

If things are feeling difficult following miscarriage or baby loss, please don't wait to hit rock bottom. Book in on the link below for a free chat to see where we might go.

https://tidycal.com/hannahcoysh/30-minute-meeting

16/11/2023

My mum absolutely loved knitting. She would always have a number of projects on the go - some complex, some more simple, and would leave them in little cloth bags around the house so she could pick them up in an emergency (!).

When I was home recently, I found one of these bags with a half-finished snood in and have brought it home to complete.

I'm not a great knitter, and when I first started work on the snood I was a bit upset about the holes I'd made from wrong stitches. But now I've come to really like them. They are like a marker between my mum's fantastic handiwork and my novice effort - where she handed over the batton and I am learning from what she taught me. How to knit - moss stitch if you're interested - but also how to slow down and enjoy the present. She was a master at that!

It's a lovely way of connecting with my mum - sitting by the fire as the nights drawn in, holding the needles my mum used to hold and creating something lovely together.

https://tidycal.com/hannahcoysh/30-minute-meeting

14/11/2023

The weeks and months following miscarriage can feel very overwhelming. Life at work doesn't ever slow down....and with all the extra stuff that you are processing, it can start to impact on your home life too.

It's something you feel that you should be able to get on with on your own. You're a doctor. Coping is what you do!

But everyone needs a bit of support sometimes.

Imagine giving yourself permission to process these complex emotions. Gaining support and insight from someone who has experienced pregnancy loss too.

Imagine finding to ways to prioritize self-care, knowing this will help you heal. Setting aside windows in your day for your thoughts and to do the things you love doing again.

Imagine emerging from this with greater compassion, for yourself and those you care for at home and work. Appreciating the small joys of each day again and looking forward to the future with hope, while honoring what the past has taught you.

Sounds impossible? It might be easier than you think.

The first step is to book in with me for a relaxed chat...see where it takes you.

https://tidycal.com/hannahcoysh/30-minute-meeting

30/08/2023

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/coping-after-miscarriage-dr-hannah-coysh

Miscarriage is thought to affect between 1 in 4 and 1 in 5 pregnancies. Despite it being so common, we can find it difficult to fully express our feelings after experiencing a miscarriage.

27/08/2023

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-hannah-coysh-b48404179_hi-im-hannah-i-work-with-women-who-activity-7101490282000441344-uR4T?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

26/08/2023

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-hannah-coysh-b48404179_walk-for-hope-activity-7101117760381833216-xEDU?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

25/08/2023

🌱 Every year 250,000 pregnancies end in miscarriage in the UK. 🌱1 in 5 pregnancies end in miscarriage and 1 in 100 of us experience 3 or more miscarriages…

24/08/2023

" The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not 'get over' your loss of a loved one, you'll learn to live with it. You will heal and you will…

24/08/2023

I've written a few posts in the past, but have never shared this information before... 🌸 After my first child, I experienced 3 miscarriages. 🌸 Each and… | 12 comments on LinkedIn

07/08/2023

It’s the start of another week of school holidays.
Excitement…. or dread?
Or maybe a mixture of the two depending on the day.
And guilt….always guilt. Coming at you from all angles.

How are you feeling about the annual juggle of work/childcare over the ‘summer’ holidays…in the rain???

Knowing that you have a mountain of work to do, but not sure how or when.

The headache you still have from arranging childcare - ‘I’ll look after yours on Mondays, if you can look after mine on Fridays’, without the option of family support, when you can’t find a holiday club that fits.

Trying to explain to the kids that when you’re ‘working from home’ you really can’t just sack it off for the day and watch Harry Potter with them….although you’d actually quite like to.

Massive guilt about more time in front of screens for the kids.

And another stressful, rushed tea/bedtime episode so that you can squeeze the work in after they’ve gone to bed.

I should be enjoying this, my kids are only young once, it won’t be long until they don’t want to spend any time with me at all.

Exhausting eh?!

There’s got to be another way!

Book a chat with me to discuss options and address the mum guilt at hannah.coysh@thegoodlifemedic.co.uk.