Pregnancy loss has long been shrouded in secrecy and shame, leaving many who experience it feeling isolated, alone, and completely unprepared at one of the most emotionally and physically taxing times in their life — but we are working to change that.

We want to shed light on the reality of pregnancy loss — because not talking about it has real consequences

When I launched Bodily in 2019, I was on a mission to destigmatize common physiological experiences in women’s bodies — the goal was to talk openly about the common but taboo experiences in our bodies, and to make them known and easier to understand, while also providing necessary resources for support. We started off by addressing a variety of postpartum and breastfeeding experiences, from C-section recovery to painful cracked nipples. And now, to further embody our mission, we want to shed light on the reality of pregnancy loss — because not talking about it has real consequences.

1 in 4 known pregnancies ends in pregnancy loss. That makes it more common than so many other health issues that get significantly more attention. Part of what makes pregnancy loss so secretive is that popular advice from those around us — including many physicians and practitioners — is to wait to announce a pregnancy until 12 or 13 weeks. But if no one even knows you’re pregnant in the first place, how can you possibly share that your pregnancy has ended in loss? This leaves many people feeling alone, isolated, and unsupported during an already traumatic time.

But perhaps the bigger reason pregnancy loss is such an underserved area, despite being so common, is that we — as a society — have a huge misconception of what it entails, leaving us ill-equipped to help others through this painful time. From an uninformed outsider’s perspective, there’s often a false sense that miscarriage is a relatively minor event, like an unexpected period that resolves itself in a day or two. This is simply not true.

In reality, pregnancy loss is anything but minor for the person experiencing it — it can be quite painful, it can involve significant blood loss and the passage of larger pieces of tissue, surgical procedures may be necessary, their body may still look pregnant for weeks or months after their loss, and their milk may come in when there’s no baby to feed. Not to mention, hormones that were elevated during pregnancy fall precipitously, which can contribute significantly to your emotional state and make coping with the grief of loss that much harder.

Few other experiences in life trigger all of this at once — and expecting someone to deal with it in silence is cruel. If we don’t talk about pregnancy loss, we don’t have a basic understanding of what it actually entails; and without this, how can we possibly know what to expect or be there to support one another? We can't offer modern solutions or have a baseline level of empathy for someone if we don’t even know that their experience exists. It’s time for us to break this vicious cycle and forge a healthier path.

It’s crucial for conversations about pregnancy, pregnancy loss, and birth to exist side-by-side

At Bodily, we aim to support everyone experiencing pregnancy loss, from miscarriages to stillbirths. We also believe it’s crucial for conversations about pregnancy, pregnancy loss, and birth to exist side-by-side — moving pregnancy loss to its own corner would only perpetuate the cycle of secrecy and shame and widen the knowledge gap between these experiences.

As a society, we’ve been failing people who experience pregnancy loss in every way for far too long. We don’t prepare them for the possibility of pregnancy loss, even though it is incredibly common, or inform them about what to expect in terms of physical and emotional recovery. The burden is on them to advocate for time off from work, insurance benefits, psychological support, and even basic physical follow-up care. But as a company dedicated to normalizing common physiological experiences in women’s bodies, I feel that it’s our responsibility to start changing the narrative and reversing the stigma with high-quality, well-researched content and products that enable others to provide better support.

By normalizing the topic of pregnancy loss, providing physical and emotional coping strategies, helping people advocate for benefits they deserve, and providing actionable ways for loved ones to support someone experiencing a loss, we hope to arm everyone with the tools they need to be part of the solution.

I hope you’ll feel empowered to share your own pregnancy loss story or take that extra step to support a friend, so we can break the cycle of silence and shame — together.

At Bodily, we’re here for you, through every change and transition.