Baby Taylor

I’m Helen, a 41-year-old from North East England and mum to a wonderful 4-year-old daughter. We conceived her naturally, and after around 8-9 months of trying again, we were thrilled to fall pregnant while waiting for an NHS fertility referral.

We found out early at 9DPO, just like we did with our daughter. I had some very light spotting when my period would’ve been due, but I wasn’t too worried.

We booked a private scan at 7+6 and saw a strong heartbeat, which was such a relief. The sonographer did say “teeny tiny” and dated the pregnancy at 5+3, which didn’t match my dates, but I remembered this happening with my daughter too and didn’t think much of it.

The following week, I started spotting at work and let my boss know just in case. The spotting continued, and by Friday I had some cramping.

I went to Darlington Memorial EPU, where my cervix was found to be closed, so it was classed as a threatened miscarriage. I was booked in for a scan on the Monday. That Saturday, I was at a friend’s hen party when I suddenly got a sharp pain and started bleeding more heavily. I left straight away and drove home, knowing in my heart what was happening.

By Sunday, the pain was intense-like labour contractions. I called 111 because I can’t take most painkillers due to my medical history and was told to go to A&E. Just before leaving, I passed a large amount of tissue and the pain stopped instantly. EPU later confirmed the miscarriage was complete, and that the photo I’d taken showed placental-type tissue. It took a couple of weeks for my pregnancy tests to turn negative.

Not long after, we got our fertility referral. I had already been diagnosed with Endometriosis, but tests also confirmed adenomyosis and that a dermoid cyst- previously removed twice- had returned. I also learned I wasn’t ovulating regularly, which came as a surprise. I was prescribed Clomid, and after four rounds, I became pregnant again.

This time, I had a feeling something wasn’t quite right. I was fixated on line progression and weeks indicator tests, which never showed more than 1–2 weeks. We lost Baby Taylor #3 at 5+4, just five days before our hospital scan where we’d hoped to see a heartbeat and be prescribed progesterone for support.

While our second loss was just as heartbreaking, it was less traumatic physically. I knew more of what to expect, although because I was under six weeks, we had to go through A&E and gynaecology rather than straight to EPU. I still had pain, bleeding, and passed tissue, but the process felt slightly more manageable. EPU confirmed the loss with a negative test just days later, which surprised me at the time but made sense in hindsight.

Both miscarriages were managed at home without medication, and no investigations have been offered into the cause. I assume my age, existing gynaecological conditions, and egg quality have all played a part.