Miscarriage heartbreak: 3 women open up about the loss of their unborn babies – ‘we need to break the silence’
- Three women in Hong Kong share their miscarriage stories to raise awareness and help destigmatise pregnancy loss
- About one in 10 women will have a miscarriage over a lifetime – representing 23 million pregnancies lost annually
In 2012, Hongkonger May Lynn Funnell had just returned from her honeymoon at the Canadian ski resort of Whistler when she discovered she was pregnant.
“I was excited and imagined my future and how things were going to change,” says Funnell, who was 28 at the time.
At nine-and-a-half weeks, she went for her first ultrasound. But during the scan the doctor went quiet and the nurse let out a gasp. She knew something was wrong.
“I just wanted to get out of there,” she recalls. “It wasn’t until I was in the waiting room, when my husband looked at me, that I broke down.”
Funnell was referred to the Queen Mary Hospital. “That was tough because I had to say out loud, ‘I’ve been told I’m having a miscarriage’ after just getting used to saying ‘I’m pregnant’. I had another scan, which was difficult … I couldn’t look this time, I didn’t want to see the still image.”