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Hilaria, who is married to actor Alec Baldwin, shared the heartbreaking news that she suffered a second-trimester miscarriage in an Instagram post
One thing that is striking about the way Hilaria Baldwin opened up about the loss of a much-wanted baby is her mention of the fact that she already has children – as if she must somehow justify feeling the devastation that comes with a miscarriage. It’s not unusual, for many women, it can act as a shield against harsher online comments, for example, if they are choosing to share their experiences in this way.
The 35-year-old knows how lucky she is to be a mother-of-four, and in a beautiful video posted to her Instagram account, she details an interaction with her daughter Carman, who, once Hilaria told her she wouldn’t be getting a new baby sister this time, innocently asked, “when is the new baby going to come?”
It’s quite heartwrenching to watch.
In two on Instagram posts, she has documented her pain, loss and shock at the news, as she explained she went for a routine scan, not expecting this.
“I guess this is a good way to share it with you too,” she said. “I told her that this baby isn’t going to come after all… but we will try very hard to give her a little sister another time.”
“We are very sad to share that today we learned that our baby passed away at four months,” she wrote.
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“We also want you to know that even though we are not ok right now, we will be. We are so lucky with our four healthy babies — and we will never lose sight of this.
“I’m really devastated right now… I was not expecting this when I went to my scan today. I don’t know what else to say… I’m still in shock and don’t have this all quite clear.”
This is sadly her second miscarriage in just eight months; she previously spoke of her loss of another pregnancy earlier this year.
“I have always been so open with you all about my family, fitness, pregnancies… and I don’t want to keep this from you, just because it isn’t as positive and shiny as the rest.”
She has been praised for opening up about such a private, personal moment; previously, she said she was choosing to speak out about the loss in hopes of normalising miscarriage and to encourage people to talk about the struggles of conceiving.
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“I have no shame or embarrassment with this experience. I want to be a part of the effort to normalize miscarriage and remove the stigma from it. There is so much secrecy during the first trimester. This works for some, but I personally find it to be exhausting. I’m nauseous, tired, my body is changing. And I have to pretend that everything is just fine — and it truly isn’t.
“I’m hoping, that by sharing this, I can contribute to raising awareness about this sensitive topic.”
The author continued to share her experience as she underwent a procedure following the loss of her baby and thanked everyone for their support.
“I’m physically ok,” she wrote in another post. “I’m grateful for my family, friends, doctors and nurses, and all of you who have held my hand through this difficult time. You have no idea how much this means to me. One foot in front of the other…now I begin the healing journey.”
Statistically, 1 in 6 people in Ireland face fertility issues and almost 8,000 Irish couples undergo fertility treatment annually.
Main photograph: Twitter
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