Meghan Markle: Expert discusses miscarriage and privacy
The Duchess of Sussex this week wrote about the “pain and grief” she and Prince Harry have suffered since losing their second child in pregnancy during the summer. The head of the Miscarriage Association, a UK-based support group which helps people who have suffered the loss of a pregnancy, praised Meghan for speaking out about her personal ordeal.
Ruth Bender Atik said since Meghan’s op-ed was published in the New York Times on Wednesday the charity has been inundated with messages from women who have expressed appreciation for her story.
The national director of the charity said its website visits and comments on social media have “shot up” and she believes Meghan’s words have benefitted “so many people who often feel so lonely and isolated” while trying to come to terms with the loss of a child.
Ms Bender Atik told Express.co.uk: “She will have validated the experiences of many people I think by talking so openly.
“And she will also have raised awareness about the facts and the feelings of miscarriage.
“People really, really don’t know how common it is.
“Our website visits and on social media platforms, the numbers all shot up.
READ MORE: Prince Harry persuaded Meghan to open up about miscarriage
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“It’s got people talking and that’s really, really powerful.
“Judging by the comments that we have seen on our social media where we shared the story, people are hugely grateful.
“I was looking at our Instagram feed yesterday and somebody had written: ‘Hearing about the experiences of other women is the only thing that’s helped me feel less alone in my grief since losing my baby’.”
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Ms Bender Atik said while many women who lose a baby through miscarriage choose to keep the experience private, others are looking for ways to express their grief but may not know how to.
She suggested Meghan’s decision to go public with her story of loss would empower other expectant mums to speak out if they tragically miscarried.
The charity boss said she and her colleagues work to make the conversation around miscarriage more open and understanding - something which she said Meghan had already done.
Meghan Markle urged to reveal miscarriage by Harry says expert
Ms Bender Atik added: “People are uncomfortable about it and for some people there is – and it’s fine that there is – a feeling that this should be kept private.
“If you choose to keep it private that’s absolutely fine.
“But we want to create a world in which people know that miscarriage happens, know that it can be really distressing and that hopefully if you tell people about it, they won’t go into a sort of major collapse.”
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The duchess explained in her op-ed how one morning in July as she scooped Archie out of his crib she was hit by a sudden “sharp cramp” in her stomach.
She wrote: “I dropped to the floor with him in my arms, humming a lullaby to keep us both calm, the cheerful tune a stark contrast to my sense that something was not right.
“I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second.”
www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk provides support and information for people affected by miscarriage.