Heartbreaking: 70 percent of women ‘feel guilty’ about their miscarriage

Having a miscarriage at any stage of your pregnancy can be difficult to discuss.

However, research reveals that a surprising number of women feel they cannot talk about their experience at all, even with their partners. One in four pregnancies end in miscarriage (for a variety of different reasons, most of them related to chromosomal abnormalities). And a survey of more than 5,500 women by the charity Tommy's shows that 70 percent of women who endure a miscarriage felt guilty and 79 percent felt like a failure. While talking to someone you trust can help soothe the heartache, 67 percent of the women surveyed said they did not feel comfortable talking to their best friend about their loss. A worrying 35 percent of the women surveyed did not feel like they could discuss the experience with the baby's father. Tommy's chief executive Jane Brewin called for more understanding of miscarriage, its causes and the feelings and emotions it can stir up:

‘The silence that surrounds miscarriage makes it difficult for women to be open about the wide range of reactions they might be experiencing.’ she said.