Carrie Bickmore, an Australian talk show host and TV presenter, has opened up about her tragic experiences with miscarriage in a powerful essay and asked for the topic to be more openly talked about.
The 37-year-old, who's currently expecting her third child, revealed that she suffered two miscarriages in the past, which she kept private to save herself from the pain of answering prying questions.
Writing in an essay for Australian magazine Stellar, titled 'We need to talk about miscarriage — in our own time', the mum explained why the stigma around the issue needs to be eliminated by talking about it more openly.
'I do believe we need to remove the stigma around miscarriage for the sake of both women and men, but I know both times I miscarried, I was so relieved I hadn’t told many people I was pregnant', she wrote.
How to cope with a miscarriage
'I was struggling to get my head around what had happened and was not in the mood to talk about it. I can’t imagine how I would have coped seeing the sad look in people’s faces or answering all the questions: “How’s bub coming along?”; “Have you got a bump yet?” I needed time to adjust.'
Despite not having announced her pregnancies early for fear of miscarrying, the mum says she understands pregnant women who reveal they are expecting early, as it's good to benefit from support during those first few months.
'I can understand the push for early announcements. There’s a strange sense of comfort when you hear of another woman’s struggles, and of course there are many benefits of having wider support during those first months.
'The sickness and exhaustion can be debilitating and certainly led me to wish I had confided in more people.'
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