Aston Villa Women midfielder Missy Bo Kearns has received widespread praise from baby loss charity Tommy's after bravely sharing her experience of pregnancy loss in a candid interview. The 25-year-old Lioness and her partner, Luton midfielder Liam Walsh, publicly announced the loss of their child during pregnancy last month via an Instagram post.
In the announcement, Kearns wrote: "With very heavy hearts, we want to share that we've lost our baby during pregnancy. The past weeks have been filled with a kind of sadness that's hard to explain, and we're still trying to come to terms with it all. Right now, we're focusing on recovering and supporting each other through this. We truly appreciate the love and support around us more than we can say."
The couple revealed that the loss was discovered after Kearns was hospitalized with shivers, where they learned their baby no longer had a heartbeat and that she had developed sepsis from the miscarriage. In an interview on ITV, Kearns opened up about the isolating nature of the grief, saying: "Suddenly you're not pregnant, and your hormones change, your symptoms start to go, like overnight. I think it's a different type of grief."
She added: "You actually feel like you're the only person it's ever happened to. But really, it's so common, and that's why I think it's important that the message is out there and don't feel alone and stuff, because it's happened to so many people. People don't tell people that they've been through it. They suffer in silence. And I just hope that people may not suffer in silence now, knowing that, like I'm here, if anyone wants to speak, there are charities like Tommy's, so many other charities that, if anyone needs them, have reached out to me for support."
Tommy's, the UK's leading pregnancy charity dedicated to funding research into miscarriage, stillbirth, and premature birth, responded with a Facebook post expressing gratitude: "We're so grateful to Missy for opening up so publicly about her grief and how it's affected both her and her partner. Thank you, Missy."
Other women echoed the sentiment in comments, describing the grief of baby and pregnancy loss as "lonely" and "silent." For anyone struggling with such a loss, Tommy's helpline is available at 0800 0147 800, and more information can be found on the charity's website.
