Pippa O’Connor has been making efforts to break down the stigma surrounding miscarriages.
In a courageous act, the 37-year-old model has opened up about her own experiences with miscarriage, before she fell pregnant with her third child, Billy, last year.
Pippa decided to share her story on Georgie Crawford’s The Good Glow podcast, in the hopes that she can make other women who have suffered a miscarriage feel understood and supported.
Pippa explained that at the time of her miscarriage, she was ten weeks’ pregnant. “I had never been through anything like that before,” she admitted. "The first two times I got pregnant it happened easily and then after Louis it didn't happen. It didn't happen for five years."
Pippa went on to explain that the pregnancy was a surprise. She and her husband, Brian Ormond, had initially been “content” with their two children, but when they discovered that Pippa was pregnant with their third, they were pleasantly surprised.
Pippa proceeded to go into detail about the heartbreaking moment when she and Brian were told that their baby had been lost. "[The nurse] told me 'I'll be back in just a minute' and I thought 'Jesus Christ, don't say this to me'”.
"Then she brought the doctor in and she just said 'Pippa I'm really sorry there's no heartbeat'.", Pippa recalled with a choked-up voice.
Pippa explained how her defence mechanisms immediately kicked in. “My initial reaction was 'Okay that's fine' and I was like literally putting my coat on to go to the door and she was calling me back."
"I don't even think I was crying," she admitted.
Pippa continued candidly by revealing that she started to blame herself for the miscarriage. "I was embarrassed… I don't know why I was embarrassed,” she noted. "I felt like I was wasting [the nurse's] time. I couldn't wait to get out of there.”
Pippa concluded her conversation by explaining why she decided to open up about her miscarriage, alongside her pregnancy announcement when she was expecting Billy. "I just felt like I wasn't being true or honest," she said. "I thought it was important to say it and I'm glad I did."
As well as 10-month-old Billy, Pippa and Brian also share two more children, nine-year-old Ollie and six-year-old Louis.
