One in four women has experienced the tragedy of miscarriage, according to the charity Tommy's. Once a taboo subject for many, baby loss is now becoming more widely spoken about in the media, allowing parents to openly share their grief.
The Duchess of Sussex has revealed she suffered a devastating miscarriage earlier in 2020, writing an open letter in the New York Times about losing her second baby with her husband Prince Harry.
Meghan wrote how she has been tending to their son Archie in his cot, saying: "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." She continued: "I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second."
Miscarriage is heartbreaking for any couple and it's such a comfort to hear the stories of famous women like Meghan, who bravely speak up about the little talked about subject. The Duchess isn't the first celebrity to have opened up about miscarriage and baby loss. Here we pay tribute to the courageous ladies who have publically revealed their heartache…
WATCH: The Duchess of Sussex reveals miscarriage
Zara Tindall
Princess Anne's daughter Zara was the first royal to publically speak about experiencing a miscarriage. The royal spoke out about suffering a second miscarriage before giving birth to her second daughter Lena.
The Queen's granddaughter revealed the devastating news in an interview with the Sunday Times, admitting that she didn’t want to share her ordeal with the public until then because it was "too raw."
Zara, who shares daughters Mia and Lena with retired rugby star Mike Tindall, announced in 2016 that she had suffered her first miscarriage. "For me, the worst bit was that we had to tell everyone - everyone knew," she said. "I had to go through having the baby because it was so far along. I then had another miscarriage really early on."
Zara was giving a joint interview with her brother Peter Philips, and praised her family for their support after she lost her first baby. "It was a time when my family came to the fore and I needed them," she said, adding: "You need to go through a period where you don't talk about it because it's too raw, but, as with everything, time's a great healer."
MORE: One father shares his personal journey of miscarriage and stillbirth
Chrissy Teigen
Chrissy sadly lost her third baby with husband John Legend in 2020, and shared incredibly moving black and white pictures taken at the hospital before the birth. One of the pictures featured the couple holding their baby Jack in their arms.
The mum wrote: "We are shocked and in the kind of deep pain you only hear about, the kind of pain we've never felt before. We were never able to stop the bleeding and give our baby the fluids he needed, despite bags and bags of blood transfusions. It just wasn’t enough," she began her post.
"We never decide on our babies' names until the last possible moment after they're born, just before we leave the hospital. But we, for some reason, had started to call this little guy in my belly Jack. So he will always be Jack to us. Jack worked so hard to be a part of our little family, and he will be, forever."
MORE: 5 ways to support your family's mental health during the pandemic
Amanda Holden
Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda, who shares daughters, Lexi and Hollie, with husband Chris Hughes, was left devastated in 2011 when her little boy Theo died in the womb. In the BBC's Dear NHS Superstars special, the heartbroken mum reflected on the moment she was told there was no heartbeat.
"I remember waking up and thinking I hadn't felt my baby kick for most of the night which was unusual because he was so active," she shared. "I tried all the things they tell you to do, but he wasn't moving. But I didn't panic."
Concerned, Amanda then went to Middlesex hospital where she was seen by midwife and close friend Jackie. "Luckily for us, an obstetrician was coming past and Jackie said to the obstetrician, 'Please can you go in, I can't hear the patient's baby's heartbeat', and then I heard this guttural screaming," she added.
"It was the most bizarre thing that's ever happened to me because it was me. I didn't know I was doing it. I had no control over myself, I thought it was another person making the noise."
The TV star then opted to have a C-section because she couldn't go through with labour. Amanda continued: "Jackie wrapped him up and I said, 'Jackie, I can't do it, I can't hold him.' Jackie said, 'He's absolutely gorgeous, you need to see him.' That's when I held him even though he was fast asleep. The one thing I remember is his perfectly formed eyebrows, which all my children have."
Beyonce
Singer Beyonce opened up about her miscarriages in an interview with ELLE. The star revealed: "I began to search for deeper meaning when life began to teach me lessons I didn’t know I needed. Success looks different to me now. I learned that all pain and loss is in fact a gift."
"Having miscarriages taught me that I had to mother myself before I could be a mother to someone else. Then I had Blue, and the quest for my purpose became so much deeper. I died and was reborn in my relationship, and the quest for self became even stronger."
Jools Oliver
Jamie Oliver's wife Jools suffered three miscarriages before welcoming their fifth child, River. Talking to Zoe Hardman and Georgia Dayton on their Made By Mammas podcast, Jools was asked about wanting one more child and made the surprising revelation.
On why she had kept her latest miscarriage a secret from her mother, Jools said: "I did have a pretty dangerous one, I think it was my second one which was really dangerous for myself so my family don't want me to do it again. They think 'You've got five, you've got healthy children, just be grateful.'"
Michelle Obama
In an interview on ABC News, the wife of former US President Barack Obama described the isolation she felt when she miscarried 20 years previous, before she conceived their daughters Malia and Sasha through IVF.
"I felt lost and alone and I felt like I failed," Michelle said. "I felt like I failed because I didn’t know how common miscarriages were because we don’t talk about them. We sit in our own pain, thinking that somehow we’re broken."
Michelle added: "That’s one of the reasons why I think it’s important to talk to young mothers about the fact that miscarriages happen and the biological clock is real because egg production is limited — I realized that as I was 34 and 35, and we had to do IVF."
"I think it’s the worst thing we do to each other as women: not share the truth about our bodies and how they work and how they don’t work."
Binky Felstead
Made in Chelsea star Binky recently revealed she had suffered a miscarriage. The mother-of-one took to Instagram to share the devastating news, telling fans: "I've thought long and hard about doing this post, but I felt that if I can pass on any warmth, comfort or help to anybody in the same position - well that would be great."
The star, who is engaged to Max Fredrik Darnton, continued: "Today would have been my 18-week mark, but sadly we had an early miscarriage just before 12 weeks. Not only was this heartbreaking for us, but it also came as such a shock to me.
"I hadn't realised until then how blessed I was with having such a relatively straightforward pregnancy with India - I'll admit I was naïve enough to assume the next one would be as straightforward, but I had two early scans as I was concerned I was bleeding. They found a ‘very strong’ heartbeat. However, on the third scan I was told 'I'm afraid there's no heartbeat'."
The star went on to admit that she is giving herself "time to mentally and physically heal". Binky added: "I keep reminding myself that there was nothing I could have done, and perhaps this was nature's way of saying that for whatever reason, this little soul wasn't ready for the world."
Gwyneth Paltrow
Hollywood star Gwyneth Paltrow opened up about suffering a near-fatal miscarriage, telling the Mail on Sunday's You magazine that she lost her third baby in an ordeal that left her life in jeopardy.
Gwyneth and her then-husband Chris Martin are notoriously private about their children Apple and Moses but the actress poignantly revealed that they often ask her for another sibling. "My children ask me to have a baby all the time," she said. "And you never know, I could squeeze one more in. I am missing my third. I’m thinking about it. "
"But I had a really bad experience when I was pregnant with my third. It didn’t work out and I nearly died. So I am like, "Are we good here or should we go back and try again?'"
Lorraine Kelly
Lorraine opened up about her heartbreaking miscarriage which she suffered in 2001 at around eight weeks, when her daughter Rosie was five years old.
Speaking on Giovanna Fletcher's Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast, the breakfast presenter detailed her experience, admitting that her husband Steve was hurting just as much as she was. "That was a really difficult time and I think yes of course we should absolutely sympathise with the women who go through this but nobody asked after Steve," she explained.
"Nobody ever said, 'how are you?' The only people who did, funnily enough, were friends that experienced it themselves and sadly as we know, far too many people experience it. I think we've got to be a bit more considerate about everyone and not just partners but extended family."
READ: Lorraine Kelly reflects on heartbreaking miscarriage after Meghan Markle's devastating loss
Nadia Sawalha
Loose Women panellist Nadia and her husband Mark Adderley spoke out about the devastation of having multiple miscarriages. The couple have suffered four miscarriages, and gave a raw and honest account of their experiences in the podcast, titled "Dealing With the Heartbreak of Miscarriage."
Both Nadia and Mark broke down on several occasions as they relived their painful memories. Nadia, through tears, shared: "From the second you know you're pregnant you start making plans. It doesn’t make any difference how far you are. You can see their face, you can see their smile, start planning where they will go to school."
Nadia and Mark – who share daughters Maddie and Kiki-Bee – recalled each miscarriage, along with the traumatic birth of their oldest daughter Maddie, with Nadia saying: "We then had our darling Maddie. She was so precious – born on Christmas Day – a survivor of torture after a traumatic birth."
Nadia then admitted that throughout her pregnancy with their youngest, Kiki, she spent the whole time worrying. "I wasn’t waiting to have a baby, I was waiting to have a miscarriage," she said.
Trinny Woodall
Fashion stylist Trinny has previously opened up about her fertility struggles, revealing that she has suffered two miscarriages and endured about nine rounds of IVF.
"Around 34 I started that journey of wanting to have a baby," she told Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on This Morning. "I took a long time to realise I was ready to be a mum, and then you think it would be simple."
Trinny, who is mum to daughter Lyla, found out she had a "bad case of infertility" and so did IVF with her then-husband Johnny Elichaoff, who died in 2014. "The second time I did it, I was successful and then I lost that baby, quite late. Then I got pregnant again and then I lost that, so I had a few times of feeling 'I'm pregnant', then not being pregnant," she said.
The TV star was artificially inseminated from her husband and became pregnant, but went through a horrible health scare. She started bleeding on the red carpet at the Oscars and feared she was suffering a third miscarriage.
Trinny visited her doctor as soon as she arrived back in the UK, who told her the baby was still alive. "That was my lowest point," she said. "I remember flying back and I went to straight to the hospital. He had a little mini [ultrasound] and he put it on and it was [the heartbeat] and she was alive!"
For information, advice and support on miscarriage and baby loss visit tommys.org