Woman says patients dealing with pregnancy loss should have a separate waiting room at OB/GYN
Anyone who’s gone through pregnancy loss knows what an absolutely traumatic experience it is. That’s why one woman in Georgia is calling on doctors’ offices to make changes so the women in their care can be the tiniest amount more comfortable as they go through something so horrific.
India Batson posted a now-viral TikTok video from her car after a doctor appointment where she first made the request for doctors’ offices to have separate waiting areas for expecting patients and patients who are experiencing pregnancy loss.
“Sitting in that waiting room next to tons of pregnant women while you wait to go back just to get bloodwork to see if your HCG [level] is back to zero sucks, like it absolutely sucks,” she tearfully explained in the video. “There is no other way to phrase it.”
Batson told Good Morning America that she’s had back-to-back pregnancy losses: a miscarriage in February, and before that, a ruptured ectopic pregnancy.
“Both times, I felt that there were ways that we could improve … an already horrific experience by adding trauma-informed care to these OB-GYN offices after women learn that they’ve lost their baby and are going through the grieving process and just being more compassionate and empathetic to these women,” she said. “I don’t find placing us next to each other to get blood work is the best approach that is kind and empathetic.”
Batson isn’t the first person to call for this sort of change. Other potential solutions that have been proposed include staggered schedules at doctors’ offices to accommodate different types of patients.
“I can’t speak for all women on what they would like. But it’s clear that there are ways that we can navigate this,” Batson said. “I would love nothing more than for this horrific experience to actually lead to positive changes for the women after me who will experience miscarriage.”
