Sutton-on-Trent CIC Yasmine McClory Foundation launched awareness campaign to ensure that GPs consider pregnancy as a possible cause of illness

After losing their daughter and sister to pregnancy-related complications, a new foundation set up in her name is appealing to GPs and doctors to routinely perform pregnancy tests to avoid further tragedies.

The Yasmine McClory Foundation was launched last year in memory of Yasmine McClory, of Sutton-on-Trent, who died suddenly in February 2024 as a result of pulmonary embolism, likely caused by her being ten weeks pregnant which was undiagnosed at the time.

The foundation was created by her parents, Annelie and Jason, and siblings Jess and Ev in May 2024 to keep Yasmine’s memory and her legacy alive by supporting causes she was passionate about, including food poverty, mental health, the LGBTQ+ community, and children with learning disabilities.

The foundation became a CIC [community interest company] as opposed to a charity so they’d be able to support multiple causes instead of just one as charities do, and so far the foundations has launched a private counselling programme for the LGBTQ+ community, a fundraiser for local food banks, and fully-funded SEND outdoor adventure days.

And now the family foundation has launched a new awareness campaign to ensure that GPs consider pregnancy as a possible cause of illness in patients presenting with relevant symptoms, to help avoid other families going through the heartache they have experienced.

“A simple pregnancy test can be the difference between life and death,” says Jess McClory, Yasmine’s older sister and director of the foundation. “A quick and easy pregnancy test would have saved her life.”

The campaign has developed an informative poster designed for GP surgeries. Created in collaboration with Dr. Katie Moloney, the poster outlines key symptoms that may indicate pregnancy and serves as a prompt for both patients and healthcare providers to consider pregnancy testing when appropriate.

Practices can request copies of the poster on the foundation’s website: https://www.yasminemccloryfoundation.org.uk/our-work/health-medical-research/pregnancy-testing

GP practices across the county are being urged to display the poster in waiting rooms and consultation areas, ensuring that both medical professionals and patients remain aware of pregnancy as a possible factor in diagnosing illness.