Making a Positive Difference for Mothers and Families who Experience Miscarriages
Panel discussion with senior industry women with a passion to make a change around miscarriages
“3 miscarriages must be experienced before public medical treatment. ”
I was invited to be the on-site MHFAider®1 at Advertising Week Europe. I went with my mental/media expertise and eyes open, and experienced more than I expected in a good way.
Thanks to the kind invitation from Katie Ingram & Jamie Maw, I spent the day walking through the venues wearing my MHFA England® lanyard and chatting to delegates about the role and experience. Some chats about mental health amongst other themes. They brought some lovely and honest chats on a human level.
I also spoke to staff, sponsors, venue managers + security also. Many were pleasantly surprised to learn there was ‘an #MHFAider on-site’ to support them. 😌
I also bumped into a few people from my ‘former life’ in the media agency world. Some things change, and some things… well, you know 😊
The day ended with a powerful & touching panel discussion I was invited to support, featuring:
➡️ Katie Ingram (Advertising Week Europe)
➡️ Sarah House (Tommy's, the pregnancy and baby charity)
➡️ Myleen Klass, MBE (Musician, Entertainer and Ambassador)
➡️ Sarah Ashby (CFO at Mamas & Papas)
They discussed the industry and their passion to make a difference with mothers and families who experience a miscarriage. They went straight into the main issues, including the lack of support, and the positive work being done to change that. 👏
For me a these moments really stood out:
⚫ The shocking truth that no official medical help is offered until after 3 miscarriages.
⚫ The quiet suffering of women who don’t feel able (or allowed) to disclose they’ve had one.
⚫ The importance of language. Sarah House shared a simple, compassionate response: “I’m so sorry to hear that. How can I help?”
⚫ The legal reforms being driven by people like Myleene Klass, through patience and persistence.
⚫ And Sarah Ashby’s points learned as a national retailer: to hold space for both the grief of loss and the joy of new life.
The word that kept coming up for me was: "Community". They have created this. Because none of this changes without working together. This is inspiring for me to know about Change and role of mental support.