Georgia woman calls for separate waiting rooms for patients experiencing pregnancy loss

ATLANTA - When India Batson returned to her OB-GYN office shortly after experiencing back-to-back pregnancy losses, she said the experience brought all of her emotions back.

"I wasn’t expecting to have a rush of emotions flood back, after being in the same room I found out my child had passed away inside of me," she shared with FOX Television Stations. "One day I was sitting in a waiting room with my husband looking at the ultrasound photo of our baby. Two weeks later I was in the same waiting room, this time alone, with no ultrasound photo surrounded by visibly pregnant women beaming at their ultrasound photos." 

She continued: "I’m so happy for women who are pregnant; I celebrate with them! But sitting next to a visibly pregnant woman for a follow-up appointment after pregnancy loss is mentally challenging to say the least." 

The 29-year-old said her pregnancy loss included a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, and more recently, a miscarriage in February.

India Batson experiencing back-to-back pregnancy losses. (Credit: India Batson, @indiabatson)

Following her appointment, the Atlanta resident shared a video on social media recommending that OB-GYN offices have separate waiting rooms available for patients who are pregnant and who are experiencing pregnancy loss. As of Friday, the video had more than 2.5 millon views on TikTok.

"I was not expecting hundreds of thousands of women to resonate with my story," she said. "Women want to be heard, seen and valued and not viewed as ‘hysterical’ for seeking compassionate medical care following the loss of their baby." 

Batson told FOX that she has heard from others on social media saying that their OB-GYN offices did have separate waiting areas or staggered schedules to accommodate different types of patients. She said she hopes her story will inspire other healthcare facilities to consider more compassionate care for patients.

India Batson at OB-GYN. (Credit: India Batson, @indiabatson)

"There are realistic ways we can help women navigate their grief and treat them with dignity as they mourn the loss of their baby," she added.

According to Stanford Medicine, pregnancy loss is considered the death of an unborn baby (fetus) at any time during pregnancy. Pregnancy loss may occur in as many as 1 in every 4 pregnancies. 

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Batson said her and her husband are hopeful to begin trying to have a baby again in May.

"Taking a beat to let my body and mind heal from back-to-back pregnant losses," she shared. "We are resting in gratitude for what God has already blessed us with and hopeful for what’s to come!"

This story was reported from Los Angeles.