Hull woman who's had FIVE miscarriages praises Meghan Markle for speaking out
The Duchess of Sussex has revealed she and Prince Harry lost a baby in July
Last updated 25th Nov 2020
A woman from Hull who has lost five babies has praised Meghan Markle's decision to open up about the miscarriage she had in July.
Samantha Catanach is hoping Meghan can help break the taboo around miscarriages, and help other women to speak out.
"A lot of women go through losses on their own," Samantha says. "They don't actually share the news with family or friends and so they have a small amount of people they can talk to about it."
"It does leave a lot of women with PTSD."
In an article for the New York Times, Meghan wrote about losing her unborn baby in July while she and husband Harry were living in Los Angeles.
The duchess began her article by describing a typical morning getting up and looking after her son Archie: "After changing his diaper, I felt a sharp cramp."
"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."
Miscarriage is "experienced by many but talked about by few"
Samantha says Meghan's experience isn't uncommon, but revealed that even medical professionals find it difficult to talk about.
"People don't know what to say, or what the right thing is to say," Samantha says. "A lot of women just want people to acknowledge that it's awful and it's a terrible thing you're going through".
During lockdown, Samantha has set up a charity for women to share their experiences.
They're meeting online at the moment, but she believes it's given women a space to talk about what they've gone through.
Samantha welcomed her son Ted last year, after receiving treatment for 'killer cells' in her womb that had led to her past three miscarriages.
She suffered more after Ted was born, and says that it's not uncommon for mothers to go on to have recurrent miscarriages.
"A lot of women in my support group had a completely normally first pregnancy," Samantha says. "But they're now five or six years into struggling to have a sibling".
She admits some people think losing a sibling isn't as bad as losing a firstborn. But she says the heartache never goes away and that miscarriage never becomes a normality.
Samantha's now given talks to nurses at the Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit at Hull Women's and Children's Hospital after giving birth to her rainbow baby Ted.
She believes there needs to be more support for women who have recurring miscarriages in the UK.
The mum has raised money for the unit, and now gives out bracelets to women to let them know its okay to reach out.
Samantha also has a blog as the Crazy Fertility Queen, where's she's documented her journey.