Marina Fogle has opened up about the devastating stillbirth of her son Willem, after losing her baby boy when she was 33 weeks pregnant.
The TV star endured the painful loss when her placenta inexplicably failed, and despite multiple tests, they were unable to determine the cause.
Speaking in a new piece for The Times, Marina shared that she and husband Ben had longed for a third child, but after the tragic loss, in which she suffered a haemorrhage, it was deemed too risky to have another baby.
Marina is now questioning why doctors know so little about miscarriages – noting that 50 percent go unexplained – in an age when humanity is considering sending the first humans to Mars.
She wrote: ‘Had he been delivered the day before, the likelihood is that he would have been fine, possibly not even needing time in the neonatal intensive care unit.’
Marina explained that after the loss, she had extensive tests done in a bid to discover what had happened, but they were all inconclusive.
Marina Fogle has opened up about the devastating miscarriage she suffered a decade ago when she was 33 weeks pregnant in an essay for The Times
The TV star (pictured with husband Ben) endured the painful loss when her placenta inexplicably failed, and despite multiple tests, they were unable to determine the cause
Marina revealed that her son, who she named Willem, weighed a healthy 2.5kg at the time of his birth in 2014.
The star, also a mum to son Ludo, 15, and daughter, Iona, 13, said that working to prevent other parents from enduring similar losses quickly became her purpose after she had ‘no newborn to look after’.
She wrote: ‘I’m no scientific genius. I wasn’t going to come up with a solution, but I realised I could help those who might.’
The mum bravely went on to found Tommy’s Children’s Carols, in conjunction with the pregnancy and baby charity, and said it has become a staple of the London social Christmas calendar over the past ten years, raising £150,000 for research into the issue.
Marina explained: ‘I spent a morning with Professor Phil Bennett at Queen Charlotte’s Hospital in London, hearing about how the study of different bacteria women had in their cervixes at various stages of their pregnancy could potentially halve the premature birth rate.’
She revealed that even though she has turned a tragedy into something positive, she is still no further forward in learning what led to her son’s stillbirth.
While Marina said may never know what happened to Willem, she has come to accept this sad reality.
The mum (pictured with son Ludo and daughter Iona) bravely went on to found Tommy’s Children’s Carols, raising £150,000 for research into unexplained baby loss
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She said her life was forever changed by his death and she has become significantly more outspoken about the issues that matter to her as a result.
Marina, for example, teaches an antenatal class for pregnant women and is encouraging them to challenge any medical decisions they may not agree with.
The star wrote: ‘If just one baby makes it, if just one family are spared the tragedy of a placental abruption that could have been predicted, then all that questioning, all that tenacity, will have been worth it.’
If you or someone you know has been affected by baby loss, help is available from Tommy’s in the UK on 0800 0147 800 or email [email protected].
