Early Pregnancy Assessment Clinic provides urgent, comprehensive answers

Nine-month-old Elise is the youngest of three kids in the Buchholz family. She’s also the family’s rainbow baby, a term given to a child who follows a pregnancy loss or stillbirth.  

“She is perfect,” says mom Lindsie Buchholz, who admits she may be a little biased. 

Elise was born just about a year after Buchholz suffered a miscarriage.

“Even having a beautiful, healthy baby now, I still think about my miscarriage and will likely forever grieve that loss.”

Buchholz experienced both the best possible news and the worst possible news at the Olson Center for Women’s Health. That’s where she found the Early Pregnancy Assessment Clinic (EPAC). The first time she went to EPAC, it was to confirm she had experienced a miscarriage. She went back six months later to confirm a healthy pregnancy with Elise.  

“I was elated to say the least, when I had my follow-up ultrasound and they saw the expected progression of my baby,” Buchholz remembers. “The ultrasound tech even hugged me and congratulated me as she remembered the heartbreak I went through with my miscarriage.”

One of the goals of EPAC is to offer prompt evaluation of a pregnancy, especially for women who have experienced loss before. 

“While there is usually nothing that can be done to prevent a miscarriage, having accurate information is essential to patients,” says clinic director Jean Amoura, MD.  

Patients can call the EPAC in their first trimester (fewer than 13 weeks) if they are experiencing pain, bleeding or have questions about the viability of their pregnancy.  EPAC provides blood tests, ultrasounds and exams in addition to counseling about why miscarriages happen and next steps if miscarriage has been found.  Often patients require early monitoring due to pain, bleeding, or a past pregnancy loss but are ultimately found to have a normally developing pregnancy.  Once they complete their close initial follow-up, they return to their obstetric care provider for the remainder of their pregnancy.

“Patients with pain or bleeding in pregnancy may not need an emergency department visit but may desire or need urgent evaluation,” Amoura explains.  

EPAC also provides the necessary medications and procedures for completing miscarriage within the clinic, with a quick resolution and no additional visit to an operating room required. Dr. Amoura and her team offer resources and connections to support groups for pregnancy loss as well. 

“Unfortunately, miscarriage is still an experience that is shrouded in silence and a bit of shame in our society,” says Ana Lopez Shala, who found EPAC after a confusing two days of looking for answers about her own pregnancy. She called for an appointment and Dr. Amoura was able to see her the very next day. 

“The quick turnaround was such a psychological necessity for us during that time; we were living in a state of suspended reality and desperate for counsel that would help us determine how to move forward.” 

Dr. Amoura quickly confirmed Lopez Shalla had experienced a miscarriage.  

“The best way to describe Dr. Amoura’s approach is equal parts human and scientist, which is exactly what my husband and I needed in that moment,” says Lopez Shala. “She walked us compassionately through her diagnostic process.”

Buchholz agrees. 

“Dr. Amoura was very thorough in her assessment and was so comforting and reassuring to me that there was nothing I did wrong or could have done to prevent the miscarriage.”

With Elise getting more active, Buchholz describes being a mother of three as exhausting and wonderful, all at the same time.  Watching her daughter grow, Buchholz still thinks of that first trip to the EPAC.  

“It was a very difficult time in my life but I have been able to move forward and accept what happened, which would not have been possible without the care I received from the Olson Center and the EPAC.” 

Now expecting her own rainbow baby in July, Lopez Shala appreciates the care she received. 

 “We were so fortunate to have such a high-quality, accessible resource in our own backyard.”