Experiences of miscarriage
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 18 April 2026
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Losing a child during pregnancy is a subject that is not often talked about but can be traumatic and, in some cultures, even lead to feelings of shame. We bring together two couples who share their experiences of miscarriage. They discuss the strain it has put on their relationships and the support offered – or not – to those grieving. Catharina in Sweden tells us. “So even though I try to be rational about it, it was very difficult because my feelings and my body was telling me something completely different.” Earlier this month, Northern Ireland became the first part of the UK where a woman and her partner are entitled to two weeks of paid leave if they experience a miscarriage at any stage of pregnancy. New Zealand, India, and the Philippines also have laws aimed at supporting grieving couples as they deal with the trauma of miscarriage and come to terms with the loss of their unborn child.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:09.0 | Hello, I'm James Reynolds. |
| 0:11.0 | Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:14.8 | In BBC conversations, we bring people together to share their experiences. |
| 0:19.2 | This time, we hear from two couples sharing their experiences |
| 0:22.5 | of miscarriage. As well as physical symptoms such as pain and bleeding, miscarriage can be |
| 0:30.5 | deeply traumatic for couples who were looking forward to becoming parents and who instead find |
| 0:36.3 | themselves grieving the loss of an unborn child. |
| 0:40.0 | In our conversation, our guests discuss their experiences of miscarriage, the strain is put on |
| 0:46.4 | their relationships and the support offered, or not, to grieving couples. |
| 0:51.6 | Northern Ireland has just introduced paid leave for a woman and the woman's |
| 0:55.7 | partner. If the couple suffer a miscarriage, we'll hear more about that later. So let me introduce |
| 1:01.5 | you to Vesta and her partner, Leslie, now in the UK, they grew up in Europe. Their families |
| 1:07.2 | are originally from Ghana. After multiple miscarriages, the couple now has three kids. |
| 1:13.8 | And Joseph and Katharina are in Sweden. |
| 1:16.1 | Katharina is now pregnant after an earlier miscarriage. |
| 1:19.1 | I felt that it was such a surprise when we lost our first baby. |
| 1:24.5 | I was expecting everything to be normal because the experiences of people that I had |
| 1:29.8 | close by, they were, they seemed to be very positive. But actually, when I experienced |
| 1:36.2 | miscarriage myself, I started to get to know people who also experienced the same thing, |
| 1:41.3 | but they just didn't talk about it. Maybe Joseph can tell also how it was |
| 1:47.4 | for him. Yeah, for me, it was a strange emotional experience where I really felt empty inside. |
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