LIFE IS LOVELY: A miscarriage is a heartbreaking experience for any parent - but you are not alone

With a quarter of women expected to suffer a miscarriage at some point in their lives, the issue is more common than people think and one my husband and I have sadly experienced.

While the subject is still hard for many to talk about, I found at the time of our miscarriage, in 2019, that the best way to come to terms with the loss was by writing a blog post about it.

Those who have not suffered a miscarriage or a stillbirth can only begin to imagine what a heartbreaking thing it is to deal with as parents.

We lost our first child at the end of my first trimester.

After heavy bleeding I was sent for an emergency scan and the sonographer revealed there was no heartbeat.

It was a shattering moment for us and it was hard to believe that this baby we were so excited for was no longer there.

I sobbed for days after the news, racking my brains why it had happened and whether there anything I could have done to prevent it.

Sadly, in most miscarriages, there is no reason why the baby died – it’s just unfortunately something that can happen.

I remember at the time feeling bitter and jealous of other couples who were expecting and wondered why we had to go through this.

I know we aren’t alone and everyone who has suffered a miscarriage or the loss of a child finds out they are stronger than they think.

But you will never forget that baby.

It is more than a life lost, it’s also the loss of everything you had hoped and planned for that child.

It took that experience to make me realise how common the issue is and how difficult it can be coping with such tragic news.

When you go on to have children following a miscarriage, you keep asking ‘will it happen again?’

My scans with Elijah and our current baby have had me anxious at times, wondering what could happen next.

But even though our angel baby was only carried for short while, he or she will be loved for a lifetime.