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🇧🇪 Belgium /Elections & Politics

Belgian lawmakers decry 'inhumane' care after two miscarriages, propose plan

From VRT NWS · () Dutch

Translated from Dutch, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • CD&V lawmaker Nawal Farih and her partner Sammy Mahdi are criticizing the medical handling of their two consecutive miscarriages as "inhumane."
  • They are proposing a five-point plan to improve care, including better gynecologist availability and automatic psychological support.
  • Experts highlight the need for better training for healthcare staff in handling pregnancy loss and acknowledge the often-overlooked grief of fathers.

CD&V parliamentary leader Nawal Farih and her partner, party chairman Sammy Mahdi, have spoken out against the medical treatment they received after experiencing two miscarriages within the past year. They describe the care as "inhumane" and are advocating for significant improvements in how hospitals handle pregnancy loss.

More than a week having to walk around as if nothing is wrong, with a broken fetus in your belly: that is psychologically extremely heavy and difficult to justify.

— Nawal FarihDescribing the emotional and psychological burden of carrying a non-viable pregnancy.

Farih recounted the devastating experience of receiving bad news about their pregnancies twice, calling it an "emotional earthquake." She highlighted the psychological toll of continuing to carry a non-viable pregnancy for over a week, emphasizing the difficulty and lack of justification for such a situation. The couple's ordeal has prompted Farih to submit a five-point plan to the parliamentary health committee.

You can compare it to an emotional earthquake.

— Manu KeirseA grief expert explaining the profound emotional impact of pregnancy loss.

The proposed plan includes measures such as establishing a standby system for gynecologists to ensure timely interventions and providing automatically reimbursed psychological counseling for those experiencing pregnancy loss. Experts like Manu Keirse, an emeritus professor at KU Leuven and grief expert, support the need for better emotional support, suggesting that training in handling grief should be mandatory for medical professionals, not just an optional elective.

The father is forgotten by default. There is hardly any research into fathers who lose an unborn child.

— Shanti Van GenechtenHighlighting the lack of attention and support for fathers experiencing pregnancy loss.

Shanti Van Genechten from Zorgnetwerk Sterrenkinderen, an organization that supports couples through pregnancy loss, noted that healthcare providers often focus primarily on the medical aspects of miscarriage, leaving insufficient time for emotional support. This can lead to parents feeling abandoned with their grief, a phenomenon known as "shadow grief," which is often invisible to the outside world. Van Genechten also pointed out that the role of fathers in pregnancy loss is frequently overlooked, with limited research and support available for them.

There is too little time to dwell on what happens afterward. Parents are left with a huge void.

— Shanti Van GenechtenExplaining the insufficient emotional support provided by healthcare professionals after miscarriage.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by VRT NWS in Dutch. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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