Mom’s Viral Post Shows How Expensive A Miscarriage Can Be

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Miscarriage is a rather emotional thing which a woman may go through. One thing that often gets overlooked in these cases, is the financial cost.

Missouri social worker Janie Faville posted a photo on Facebook of her explanation of benefits statement after her first pregnancy ended in miscarriage.

The care she received from the hospital amounted to $5,584, and Faville had to fork $1,369.57 out of her pocket.

Faville had what is known as a dilation and curettage procedure (D&C) in January, after learning she had miscarried at her nine-week OB-GYN appointment. Just one week earlier, she and her husband had heard the baby’s heartbeat.

 “I had a missed miscarriage (or a missed abortion in medical terms), meaning that it wasn’t at all like the movies,” she told The Huffington Post.

She added “I had been experiencing very minimal bleeding that we were monitoring and no cramping to speak of.”

The couple scheduled a D&C for the next morning. “One of the first things that I remember saying to my husband after the sonogram tech left the room was that I knew they would give us the choice between a D&C and going home and letting my body take over,” she said. “I told him that there was no way that I could just go home and wait for the inevitable to happen.”

Faville was devastated. “There are few words that can describe that kind of loss,” she said. “I went through the ‘what ifs,’ and sometimes still do. In a time that felt completely out of my control, I was thankful that I was able to choose what was right for my body and mind.”

A month after the ordeal, Faville was talking to a friend about her impending medical bills from the procedure. “She stopped me mid-sentence and said, ‘Wait a minute, you have to pay for that?’” she recalled.

“I had never really thought about the costs associated with this type of loss,” she said. “While it was salt in the wound for me, I began thinking about women who are not fortunate enough to have sufficient insurance coverage through their employer and what thousands of dollars of medical debt could do for someone without a safety net ― all of this in addition to the devastating loss of a child.”

After that conversation with her pal, Faville shared the photo of her EOB on Facebook. She also posted it on the Facebook group, Pantsuit Nation, where it received more than 10,000 likes!

She wrote: “This was the last thing on my mind four weeks ago as I struggled to come to terms with losing our baby. Luckily cost didn’t prohibit me from being able to choose how best to proceed for my mind, body, and soul. Unfortunately not everyone has that luxury. THIS is why we need Planned Parenthood and the ACA. This is why we march.”

Her post has prompted an outpouring of supportive comments from women who had been in her shoes. Others simply wanted to offer her encouragement and condolences.

Some commenters even shared their own miscarriage experiences and the financial toll which it took on them. One woman wrote “Our last miscarriage was complicated and cost several thousand dollars,” Another said “No grieving parent should have to worry about a bill after a loss.”

Faville edited the post to thank her fellow Pansuit Nation members for their support. “I am thankful to have had the opportunity to tell my story and to learn from all of you,” she wrote. “Reading through each and every one of the comments has left me feeling so empowered. There is strength in numbers,”

She referenced statistics that as many as 1 in 4 known pregnancies end in miscarriage. She also told HuffPost that she hopes her story empowers women to share their stories as well. “They are needed now more than ever,”

Faville added “Consciousness raising has worked in the past to bring awareness to women’s issues that had never been talked about, and it can still work. We just have to be louder than all of the noise.”