Miscarriage

If you pass any pregnancy tissue at home during a miscarriage, you can call the EPU or Emergency Room to get guidance on how to collect it and take it with you to the hospital.

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You do not have to collect it if you don't wish to. However, if you collect it, the medical team will examine the tissue to determine if the miscarriage appears to be complete. This is to rule out the possibility of a molar pregnancy (a particular type of pregnancy loss caused by over-development of the placenta). With your permission, they will send the pregnancy tissue to a laboratory for testing.

If you have recurrent miscarriage, you may be advised to collect the pregnancy tissue and have it sent for genetic testing. This will be discussed with you. Additionally, the staff in CUMH will provide further guidance, for example, for the burial of the pregnancy tissue and other options. 

In the Hospital

Following surgical management, pregnancy tissue will be sent for examination, with or without genetic testing. 

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Sometimes fetal tissue is identified within the pregnancy tissue. It is not identified in the majority of cases, as it is too small to see. Should fetal tissue (or cells) be separately identified, you may consent to a hospital burial or may make your own arrangements in a private burial plot. 

If you choose to have a hospital burial, you will sign a consent form. The pregnancy tissue will be always treated with respect and dignity. The location of the burial will be documented in the cemetery records. These options will be discussed with you by the healthcare professionals in the Emergency Room or Early Pregnancy Unit (EPU), and when you are deciding on the miscarriage management option. 

If you have experienced two or more miscarriages and wish to undergo genetic testing on the pregnancy tissue, the staff can provide guidance on the best way of collecting the tissue or arrange appropriate hospital follow-up.