is that black and asian women are at higher risk of miscarriage black women in particular are 40% more likely to suffer a loss than white women, according to one recent study. how and why is this happening? i wanted to find out, so i ve been speaking to women in the us and in the uk, where most of the research on this is under way. isabel and paulson are expecting their baby boy next month. can you see your baby s face? very emotional. i m just trying to contain myself now. they lost their previous pregnancy at four months last march. this baby is doing well and they re being supported by staff at this specialist recurrent miscarriage
clinic in coventry, but the care they received during their previous pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage has left isabel scarred for life. the day that we were sure there was something wrong, i remember being laughed at by one of the staff nurses and saying, just go home, why do you keep coming? just take codeine and paracetamol, you will be fine. i was actually losing fluids and bleeding at the time. within 48 hours of going home, isabel started bleeding heavily. she was rushed to hospital, but her baby boy died. and why do you feel you weren t listened to, you weren t heard ? the colour of my skin. black skin, it s not from here, you can wait. there is very little doctors can do to save a baby at this stage in pregnancy, but the feeling of not being listened to is what has stayed with isabel. judah, wa key wa key. more than 100 miles away
or express your pain, you have to be the strong one. this is also culture in africa, especially in malawi, things like miscarriage are taboo in this part of the world. in the uk, men who have experienced pregnancy and baby loss are increasingly finding each other and starting up support communities. these men have all lost babies and they share their grief through football. there s no pressure to grieve. us playing football and us doing the training is us grieving. matt and his wife, lauren, have suffered four miscarriages. it absolutley crushed me. i would go and do some shopping and i would cry in the car on the way to the shops, or i would cry sitting on the toilet, because that was the only time i could get to be alone. during and after a loss, the focus is quite rightly on the woman. support for women is patchy across the world and many women don t
many countries do not even have a specific word for miscarriage, theyjust use the term spontaneous abortion, which can be very upsetting and confusing. even the medical term miscarriage is defined differently depending on where you are in the world, and it s based on when a baby can survive on its own outside the womb. whatever you call this type of loss, and no matter what point in pregnancy it happens, it can be a life changing event. for the mums and families who contributed to this exhibition, it s a unique opportunity to acknowledge and reflect on their losses.
who we heard from earlier, suffered three miscarriages and one ectopic pregnancy, where the embryo starts growing outside the womb. they now have two little daughters, but they said it s very difficult to be open about pregnancy loss. our second loss remained between me and my wife. we did not share it with anyone in the family, because we felt this is our pain, we need to go through it alone. our society can make you feel like a loss is your own fault. within some families, there are mother in laws who taunt their daughter in law for having a miscarriage. we should be having more open discussions about miscarriage. i m sharing my story with the world now in the hope it might benefit someone else. amir is not the only one opening up about his losses. more than 5000 kilometres away in malawi, chisomo mwamadi is on a mission to remove the taboo of miscarriage in africa, too. you re not supposed to express your grief