Cultural taboo in the black community
On top of it all the cultural stigma and taboo that surrounds miscarriage in the black community made it even harder to share how I was feeling.
You want to know why it happened - what is it that's preventing us from having a baby? In our case, nobody was able to tell us. There seemed to be no reason why I was miscarrying and, in my mind, that didn’t make sense; there had to be a reason why.
I got pregnant for the fifth time and miscarried again. Our sixth pregnancy ended up being an ectopic pregnancy, where I was again admitted to hospital with internal bleeding and had to undergo an operation. Still, no one was able to give answers, and I didn’t know what to do or where go.
Our seventh pregnancy and our rainbow
I held on to my faith in God but decided to take a break from trying.
Reggie and I threw ourselves into things we loved, like travelling, and in 2016 I got pregnant again for the seventh time. In 2017 I gave birth to our rainbow baby Arielle.
Throughout those years, the Early Maternity Unit almost felt like a second home. The staff were kind and supportive and were amazing during my time at hospital. However, the question as to why I was having multiple miscarriages remained unanswered, and this is where the work of Tommy’s becomes so important.
Tommy's work is so important
After I had Arielle I wanted to learn more about baby loss and see what I could do to support.
I came across Tommy’s and was inspired by the work they do and felt encouraged in knowing that I wasn’t alone in my journey.
For Arielle’s first birthday I decided to take part in the 2018 Virgin Sport 10k run and fundraised for Tommy’s. The support they offer to families like mine, and the tireless research and campaigning work they do into baby loss, is so important.
I continue to support Tommy’s through regular giving and, thanks to organisations like theirs, I am more confident in sharing my story of recurrent miscarriage. I really want to be able to support others who are going through a similar experience. You’re not alone.