Misdiagnosed Miscarriages in the ER - A Real Problem

According to RightDiagnosis.com, misdiagnosed cases in the ER or ICU range from 20% to 40%.  These numbers are huge.

I have been very thankful for ER doctors in the past but, please remember, they are treating everybody no matter what their specialties might be.  They don't have a lot of time with each patient either.  They are going from one room with a car accident victim to the next were somebody has cut his finger with a saw to the room with the toddler with a 104 temperature to the room where a pregnant women is bleeding.

Is it any wonder they don't get it all correct?

A woman just shared her daughter in law's experience.  At just shy of seven weeks, she went to the Emergency Room due to serious cramping.  No baby was visible.  They diagnosed a miscarriage.  Thankfully her DIL did not give up and they insisted on another appointment to verify.  At that appointment, they found the baby.

You may read her story here: 

Gmvallejo's DIL Story: Misdiagnosed in the ER

 I am sharing her story today because we have been seeing these stories for years.  Indeed, I was misdiagnosed in the ER as well and have shared that story.

Misdiagnosed at 12 Weeks

Our site is filled with stories of women misdiagnosed in the ER.  This doesn't mean that every woman that goes in there is misdiagnosed but it could mean that, at the very least, 1 in 4 may be.  This is important because you need to know there may be hope and you may need a second opinion.

I know I keep going on about the new UK guidelines:

Misdiagnosed Miscarriage? The UK Has Changed their Guidelines. Your Doctor Needs to Take Note.

but if your gestational sac is not yet 25mm, you should not be diagnosed with a blighted ovum.  The new guidelines are good ones and would prevent the vast majority of misdiagnosed miscarriages.  If there are no complications, wait until the sac is 25mm (if it is growing) and then wait one week to verify.  For most women, this will bring them to at least the nine week range before they can be diagnosed.  My gestational sac with my daughter was 28.5mm before my daughter could be seen and at only 21.5mm, it still looked empty.

As always, if you are going through this scare right now (((hugs)))  Feel free to visit the Misdiagnosed site or leave me a message here.