Pregnancy charity Tommy's are encouraging women to share their miscarriage
stories on social media using the hashtag #misCOURAGE.
The campaign comes after research revealed that one in four pregnancies in the UK ends in miscarriage, but in a survey of more than 6000 women the charity found that a third of women didn't even feel they could tell the baby's father.
Tommy's, who fund research into pregnancy problems, launched the social campaign on Monday 16th November in a bid to break the 'misunderstanding' around miscarriage.
With a growing Twitter movement, YouTube videos of mums sharing their stories and even an advert on screens in London's Piccadilly Circus, Tommy's are calling for women to break the taboo of losing a baby.
Not only do 35% of women feel they can't tell their partner about their ordeal, but 65% couldn't tell their best friend.
This was mainly due to friends and family 'not knowing how to support them', with 70% agreeing that they felt their loved ones didn't know what to say.
Image:Tommys
Despite official NHS guidelines stating that most miscarriages are never the fault of the mother, the most shocking statistic revealed that 80% of women felt a failure after having a miscarriage.
Jane Brewin, CEO of Tommy's, said; 'Every woman, when she is pregnant, is having a real baby, not a bundle of cells or a foetus.'
Jane, who is an activist for better post-stillbirth care, is fighting against current laws which mean women have to miscarry three consecutive times to qualify for specialist help; 'It isn't acceptable in this day and age to put parents through this much suffering.'
Studies have revealed that the psychological impact of miscarriage is enough to induce Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in mothers.
She added; 'Ultimately our aim is that every miscarriage is taken seriously and investigated.'
[Twitter]
Britain still has one of the highest rates of stillbirth in the Western world, with one in every 200 babies dying after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
In April 2016 Tommy's will be opening Europe's largest miscarriage research centre.
Rosie is just one of the women who has spoken out for the campaign and revealed her own story, which you can watch here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtIPAjw1ZFI
