Journalist Sinead Hussey spoke to The Irish Times about suffering recurrent miscarriages over several years
Sinead Hussey suffered two miscarriages before the birth of her daughter Aoibhín in 2017. She said she never envisioned going through something like it.
“My mam had a miscarriage and had told us about it. And I just assumed that this is one of these things that happen and I wasn’t worried,” she said.
Hussey told The Irish Times that she’d never wanted a certain number of children, but that her daughter had badly wanted a sibling.
In 2021, Hussey and her husband began trying again for a baby, but unfortunately suffered several miscarriages.
After having one child, she said she thought having a second baby would come about much easier.
“It took me completely by surprise that this could happen,” she said.
During her third miscarriage in 2021, hospital restrictions during the pandemic meant that she had to go to her scan alone.
In December of the same year, she miscarried again just days before Christmas.
Each time, she said she felt as though she had to put on a front so people wouldn’t know what was really going on.
However, as time went on and she became aware that she was acting differently, she decided she should be honest.
“Sometimes, people say things like ‘at least you have a child, all is not lost’,” she says. “But when you’re in that zone and you’re desperately trying for a sibling for your child, it’s very difficult.”
The broadcaster described the experience as a lonely one, as her daughter was too young to understand the gravity of the situation.
“I think as a society we treat miscarriages as a blip or something that’s easily forgotten, particularly when someone goes on to have another baby, but, for me, it’s changed me. I’m definitely a more grateful parent because of what happened.”
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