On the 18th of December at 15 weeks pregnant we were told our baby had no heartbeat. No person walks into a scan room expecting to hear those words & nobody can prepare you for the heartache that follows.

I was then sent to hospital the day after to start the course of medication to pass my baby’s body. We were told by 2 different medical professionals that this would not happen at home & would only happen when we returned to the hospital 2 days later.

However, on 20th December 2024, the day before we should’ve returned to hospital, I started having contractions & birthed my baby’s body at home with my husband. Nobody warned us that I would have contractions, that baby would be attached to cord and placenta or what my baby would look like, that she would have tiny fingers, toes, eyes and a mouth.

The resources on the miscarriage association helped both myself and my husband immensely. Especially those regarding 2nd trimester loss as this doesn’t seem to be spoken about as widely.

This January, to raise money for the miscarriage association, i am completing 250,000 steps—to represent the 250,000 pregnancies lost to miscarriage, molar, and ectopic pregnancies in the UK each year.

The miscarriage association offers resources, support lines, research and campaigns for better care and support when having a miscarriage. The resources on their website helped prepare us as best we could & I know we will continue to use the services offered for as long as we need to.

1 of the campaigns started by the miscarriage association;

- leave for every loss; this means that they are discussing with parliament that miscarriage be viewed as a loss and bereavement leave be offered. This includes for partners, I think people forget, my husband lost his child too

Meredith Benton, you will live in our hearts forever.

Thank you for helping me #StepUpForMiscarriage