"Early pregnancy loss"

I experienced a miscarriage this week. My husband and I want to recognise the care and compassion shown by the nurses on Rubislaw ward, who talked us through our options, and were with us through failed medical management, cancelled surgery and surgical management. It was a difficult, emotional, rollercoaster of a week, and the nurses were so kind and supportive at each step. They do a difficult job in a difficult setting, and do it so well. We were grateful for their care. The theatre staff, surgeons and anaesthetist all showed a similar degree of compassion. Thank you all. 

We would like to request one improvement. I booked a private scan at 8 weeks as I felt something was wrong. No foetus was seen and we were referred to Rubislaw. When we went for the scan in Rubislaw, the sonograher and doctor saw a foetus, and initially suggested we had got our dates wrong. This briefly got our hopes up before they confirmed there was no heartbeat. We found this very distressing. Perhaps for other women the phrasing of this could be re-considered. Instead of suggesting the woman has the dates wrong, perhaps the woman could be told that a foetus is visible, but is smaller than the size that would be expected for the number of weeks of the pregnancy. This does not raise hopes in the same way as suggesting the dates are wrong, and may mean the news is less shocking if a heartbeat is not found.