OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 15, 2025 /CNW/ - Every year on Oct. 15, Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day reminds us that far too many women experience the unimaginable heartbreak of losing a pregnancy or an infant. For many, that grief is made worse in Canada by gaps in care and a health system that has not yet fully adapted to the compassionate and comprehensive services these women require and deserve.
Recommended improvements for early pregnancy loss care
Early pregnancy loss affects about 15 per cent of pregnancies, yet women who experience these losses continue to face inconsistent care and, in far too many cases, inconsistent access to aftercare supports. To help close these gaps, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) released a new Clinical Practice Guideline on early pregnancy loss earlier this year, which sets out a roadmap for improving the standard of care across the country.
This guideline includes several key recommendations aimed at strengthening both clinical and system-level responses to pregnancy loss, including:
- Ensuring women are screened for depression and offered treatment or referral to mental health supports – measures needed to support the one in three women who experience adverse mental health outcomes after a pregnancy loss;
- Establishing more Early Pregnancy Assessment Clinics (EPACs) across Canada to provide dedicated and timely care outside emergency departments;
- Making mifepristone and misoprostol available free of charge for all women in Canada who choose medical management of a pregnancy loss; and
- Using compassionate, non-stigmatizing language and ensuring providers reassure patients that most early pregnancy loss is not preventable.
To advance these goals, the SOGC has embarked on a national advocacy campaign to meet with all provincial and territorial health ministers to encourage the implementation of these recommendations across Canada. We are urging governments to ensure that every woman in Canada, regardless of where she lives, has access to early pregnancy loss care that is timely, evidence-based and compassionate.
The SOGC will also be hosting a series of webinars in early 2026 to support and encourage grassroots advocacy for these recommendations among patients and physicians. More information will be shared soon.
Addressing stillbirth and later pregnancy loss
For many families, the pain of pregnancy loss comes later in pregnancy or through stillbirth. These devastating losses have lifelong impacts on families, yet the systems in place to investigate, track and prevent stillbirth remain fragmented and inconsistent across jurisdictions – even as stillbirth rates have risen in Canada over the last decade.
That's why the SOGC has been calling for a National Stillbirth Strategy that would standardize data collection, identify possible preventions and ensure that all families dealing with these tragedies are better supported and provided with compassionate care.
On this day and throughout this Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness month, we honour the experiences of women and families who have endured these losses and to reconfirm our commitment to improve the care and support they receive, no matter where they live in Canada.
"Losing a pregnancy or an infant can have profound impacts on a woman's physical and mental wellbeing, but far too often these experiences are not being acknowledged or addressed. The evidence is clear: better mental health supports and more compassionate care through Early Pregnancy Assessment Clinics would provide Canadian women with more comprehensive services that not only improve outcomes but also reduce wait times and cut costs. At the same time, rising stillbirth rates in Canada highlight the urgent need for a national stillbirth strategy to strengthen data collection and supports. It's beyond time for us to start providing better care to women and families who lose a pregnancy or a baby, and we are working hard to advocate for the system-level changes needed to make that happen." – Dr. Lynn Murphy-Kaulbeck, President, Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada
SOURCE The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada
Media Inquiries: Teresa Wright, Communications and Public Affairs Specialist, Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, [email protected], 613-730-4192 ext: 236
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