Earlier this week Gordon Ramsay revealed his wife, Tana, 41, had miscarried their fifth child at five months pregnant.
The TV chef, 49, shared an official statement on Facebook saying they were grateful for their fans support and were ‘healing together as a family’.
According to baby charity Tommy’s, up to 75 per cent of miscarriages happen in the first trimester.
Gordon Ramsay issued a statement on Monday revealing that his wife Tana, who was pregnant with the couple’s fifth child, has sadly miscarried over the weekend
For most pregnant women their 12-week scan offers much-needed reassurance after that first anxious wait, but sadly for some that joy is short-lived.
Here three women share their heartbreaking experiences of late miscarriage and stillbirth, and how they managed to get through the grief…
‘I felt so empty, in shock and utterly heartbroken’
Gemma Blackham, 34, a hairdresser from Wickford, Essex, was almost four months pregnant when she lost her triplets.
After two early miscarriages, Gemma fell pregnant again in September 2013 with triplets – but she was left heartbroken after miscarying at four months. Her and husband Stuart now have a son Henry (pictured)
After two early miscarriages, Gemma fell pregnant again in September 2013 and a six-week scan confirmed she was having triplets.
After the initial shock, she was delighted, but a 13-week scan revealed one baby wasn’t well enough to survive.
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Gemma and husband Stuart were advised to abort one child to give the others a better chance of survival.
She said: ‘It was a horrible decision, even though we knew it was pretty much out of our hands.’
After an operation to stop her baby’s heart, Gemma went home but returned to hospital five days later in agonising pain.
She was comforted by a scan showing her remaining babies were fine, but later that night she went into labour at home, delivering her babies on her own.
‘Miracle baby’ Henry arrived eight days late, by caesarean. Gemma said: ‘I still look at him and can’t believe he’s really here. He’s made me feel complete’
She said: ‘It was terrifying. An ambulance came but, by then, everything had gone, three babies, three sacs and three placentas. I was in shock and utterly heartbroken.’
Doctors discovered that Gemma doesn’t produce enough progesterone when pregnant so, when she conceived four months later, she was given injections and pessaries.
She said: ‘I was wrapped in cotton wool, but I was still petrified. After losing the triplets at 15 weeks, there was no point when I felt safe.’
‘Miracle baby’ Henry arrived eight days late, by caesarean. Gemma said: ‘I still look at him and can’t believe he’s really here. He’s made me feel complete.’
Gemma and Stuart have opted not to extend their family. ‘We couldn’t go through that grief again,’ she added. ‘I’ll never get over losing my babies but I want women to know that there’s hope.’
‘I felt completely lost, as if I didn’t have a purpose. I was supposed to be a mum’
Catherine White, 34, a secondary school teacher from Cambridge, lost twins at 30 weeks.
Catherine was ‘completely devastated and lost’ after being forced to deliver identical twins who were stillborn. She now has a daughter Eleanor who will be two next month (pictured)
Catherine was delighted to fall pregnant after three years of trying, but couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong.
A nine week scan reassured her, showing two strong heartbeats, she was expecting identical twins.
The pregnancy went smoothly until, at 30 weeks, she felt her babies had stopped moving and a scan revealed one of twins had died, putting the surviving baby in jeopardy.
She said: ‘I was devastated, but I went into autopilot to keep it together for the baby I was still carrying. Sadly, my second baby didn’t make it.’
Catherine was induced, delivering the twins one after the other. At first she was too distressed to see her children, but she soon had a change of heart.
She said: ‘I couldn’t hold them, didn’t want to get too attached, but I’m so glad I got to say goodbye. I left hospital two days later, devastated and completely lost.’
Catherine with her partner and their newborn daughter. She said: ‘I heard her cry and broke down, she was finally here’
Catherine tried to hide her grief but, eventually, private counselling helped her come to terms with her pain.
‘I’d been pregnant and it gave me hope it would happen again. Hope is a powerful thing,’ she said.
Tests revealed she had Hughes syndrome, sticky blood, which can cause clotting during pregnancy. After another miscarriage, Catherine was prescribed heparin injections and daily aspirin and, by November, she was pregnant again.
‘It was such a mixture of joy and fear, I didn’t want to get my hopes up,’ she said. ‘My confidence increased as I passed all the milestones and Eleanor arrived on July 5 2014. I heard her cry and broke down, she was finally here.’
‘I’d wake up almost every night reliving the worst experience of my life’
Emily Waterfield, 34, from Plymouth, miscarried her son Teddy at 17 weeks.
Emily Waterfield, 34, from Plymouth, suffered nightmares and flashbacks after miscarrying her son Teddy at 17 weeks. She now has a daughter Bea (pictured)
Emily had been anxious through those early weeks of her first pregnancy, with daughter Bea, and her second was no different. She says, ‘Everything is so uncertain and you’re so desperate to protect this tiny creature inside you.’
At a 16 week check-up two dopplers failed to find a heartbeat and a scan confirmed her baby had died. Emily and husband Pete were devastated.
She said: ‘Everything from that point is a bit of a blur. I delivered Teddy on September 17 2015 and he was tiny, just the size of the palm of my hand, but so beautiful, with a tiny nose just like his sister’s.’
Emily needed emergency surgery to remove her placenta then, the following day, she left hospital. Her days were busy with little Bea but she suffered nightmares and flashbacks almost every night.
Her husband was a rock and family rallied around but, despite scoring highly on an online PTSD survey, she found there was no NHS support available.
Emily and her husband Pete were overjoyed at the birth of their daughter (pictured). ‘Losing a child is the worst thing that can happen to any family but we’re lucky to have Bea. She’s been a huge comfort,’ Emily said
‘I can’t fault my care in hospital and my GP has been incredible, but there was no help to process the trauma of losing my son,’ she said.
‘I understand that the NHS is under enormous pressure but, when you consider the statistics on miscarriage, it’s disgusting there’s no support. Women shouldn’t have to go through this loss and grief alone.’
An admin error added to her heartbreak when, in November, she received a letter from hospital asking her to attend a seminar to discuss pain relief for her impending birth.
She recalled: ‘I had to call and tell them I’d lost my son. I know this kind of thing can happen, but it shouldn’t.
‘Losing a child is the worst thing that can happen to any family but we know we’re lucky to have Bea. She’s been a huge comfort. Sometimes something on TV or a memory will trigger tears and she’s there to hug me.’