Mother who had four miscarriages praises Duchess of Sussex for 'bringing the subject to the fore'
A mother from the Rhondda who had four miscarriages has praised the Duchess of Sussex for opening up about losing a baby and "bringing the subject to the fore".
Kathryn Sheppard, 45, said mothers and families often "suffer in silence" despite pregnancy loss being "very, very common".
Mrs Sheppard suffered four miscarriages and even lost twins during one pregnancy, meaning she lost five babies before the birth of her daughter Rebecca in 2013.
She applauded Meghan for writing an open and personal account of her own loss in the New York Times. In the article, the duchess describes losing a child in July of this year.
Mrs Sheppard said some people do not understand the loss when the pregnancy is in its early stages.
"Some people may say, 'Oh it was early, it was nothing, it was a ball of cells'," she said.
"No, as soon as that pregnancy test comes back positive, your life has changed. You could lose at five weeks, you could lose at 40 weeks - you have lost your hopes, you have lost your dreams.
"Life changes the minute that test turns positive and that's what I could relate to when the duchess spoke about that grief."
The 45-year-old remembered how she was "thrown into depression" after her second miscarriage. She was prescribed antidepressants and had pregnancy loss counselling.
She added that by the fourth time, miscarriage had become the heartbreaking norm for her and she became "used to" it.
An estimated one in four pregnancies in the UK ends in a miscarriage according to the charity Tommy’s, which funds research into miscarriages, stillbirths and premature births. One in 100 women experience three or more miscarriages in a row.
Mrs Sheppard commended the duchess's candid description of her grief, saying it is important for those with a public profile to speak openly about pregnancy loss.
"I applaud the Duchess of Sussex for what she has done because it brings the subject to the fore," she said.
"She's royalty but she's still a human, she's still lost, she still feels, and it's just that connection."
Mrs Sheppard, whose daughter Rebecca is now seven, said she became a media volunteer for the charity Miscarriage Association to share her story and stop people thinking they were going through it alone.
"We are all in this together even though we are separate, you know what I'm going through. I do think it will help and that's why we have to talk about it," she added.
"Because we don't want women to suffer in silence because they have lost something that they absolutely love and adore."