Mercy Hospital appears to be THE hospital for Muskegon.
The danger of miscarriage to the mother at 18 weeks is primarily from infection if the amniotic membrane is ruptured and the miscarriage does not quickly complete. There is also some danger of hemorrhage, which is present in every delivery.
Hospitals will generally not attempt to prolong a pregnancy if the membranes rupture before 20 weeks - it is very probable the mother will become infected before the baby is viable.
I would think monitoring the mother, giving pain relief, and delivering the child at the first sign of infection would be appropriate.
Some women have managed to escape infection and deliver healthy babies with an amniotic leak. They’re generally kept in hospital.
If the miscarriage has started (cervical dilation, contractions, minimal bleeding) but the amniotic membranes have not ruptured, I think it would be medically acceptable from the physical point of view alone to send the woman home, just as women are sent home if they arrive full term at the earliest stages of labor. Whether it’s acceptable psychologically is another question.
Appleview Women’s Healthcare 684 Harvey St. Muskegon, MI.
This will get tossed.