Two sisters who between them have experienced the heartbreak of five miscarriages are taking on the Kiltwalk to raise cash for a leading baby loss charity.
It is a heartbreaking issue that devastates so many women and families, yet it is still considered by many as ’taboo’.
Many people feel that there remains a lack of support out there for women who suffer miscarriages - but Lucy Marquis and her sibling Sarah Peacock, both from Mid Argyll, want to change that.
Lucy, 44, has experienced the trauma of miscarriage four times and wants to help raise awareness while supporting a cause close to her heart.
She and Sarah, 38, who has also gone through a miscarriage, are doing the Glasgow Kiltwalk on April 28 for baby loss charity, Tommy’s.
Lucy and her partner Ewan Mckinven, 32, are proud parents to Olivia, who will be two in June, while Sarah and her husband Lewis have two sons, Taylor, 12, and Cameron, six. But both say the trauma of a miscarriage is something that stays with a woman for life.
Tommy’s is the UK’s largest pregnancy and baby loss charity, which funds research into premature birth, stillbirth and miscarriages.
Lucy said: “I think it is something that needs to be spoken about. It’s still such a taboo thing.
“When it happens before 12 weeks, before the pregnancy is announced, people don’t know what’s happened - and it’s often not spoken about. This is my opportunity to change that.
“My first was a missed miscarriage. I was almost at my 12-week scan and the day before I started bleeding. They found out the baby had stopped growing three weeks prior.
“I found out about my second miscarriage at four to five weeks into the term and was devastated.
“Everyone who knows me knows I’ve always wanted to be a mum. It’s all I ever wanted to do. I never thought I was going to get there. When Ewan and I got together he felt the same about starting a family, so it was really difficult.
"What made it even worse was because one was a missed miscarriage they wanted me to go naturally. Nothing could be done until the following week because it was a bank holiday.
“Sometimes it passes naturally, some people have to take tablets to bring it along. Some people have to have surgery. All options are very difficult."
Lucy said that while the nurses she dealt with were “lovely”, the aftercare was lacking.
She added: “There’s nothing to tell you what’s happened, why it happened. You are just left to get on with it.
“Doctors won’t investigate until you’ve had three consecutive miscarriages and I was told over the phone to just think of it as a late period. After I got off the phone I just thought - wow.”
The support of her family and Tommy’s has helped her cope.
Lucy said: “Tommy’s do a lot of research. They want to push for every miscarriage to be investigated instead of waiting for three. They offer support and information, and it helps to read about experiences of other women. It takes away some of the stress to know there is hope out there.
“My sister and Ewan have been amazing. I couldn’t have got through it without them. The first time I had a miscarriage I shared it on my Facebook page and I couldn’t believe the amount of support from other girls who have gone through the same thing."
Lucy says that despite her problems, she has not given up hope of becoming a mum again.
She explained: “My age is not on my side and we have so much love for Olivia. She is wonderful. We’d love her to have a wee brother or sister, but we will see what happens.”
You can sponsor the sisters on their 23-mile trek from Glasgow Green to Balloch by visiting Lucy’s JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/page/lucy-marquis-1704202370398
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