Rebecca Adlington has spoken of the “excruciating” emotional pain of giving birth to her stillborn daughter, Harper, a year ago.
The Olympic Gold Medallist recalled the “horrendous pain” of her miscarriages in 2022 and 2023, which were discovered in her first 12-week and 20-week scan respectively.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Adlington says she fell pregnant a year after the birth of her second child. The 35 year old shares son Albie, born in 2021, with husband Andy Parson and also has a daughter, born in 2015, with ex-husband Harry Needs.
“I had Albie in lockdown and then the year after, I got pregnant again. But we found out at the 12-week scan that I’d miscarried. I needed emergency surgery and lost two litres of blood, then, as a result, developed sepsis. It was tough.
“Then I got pregnant with Harper. We were extremely nervous and did everything by the book, but at my 20-week scan, the poor lady who was on duty that day, had to tell us that she couldn’t find a heartbeat.”
Adlington was induced, which she said she “hadn’t expected” because of her previous miscarriage. “I thought it would be surgery again,” she explained.
Pregnancy and baby loss charity Tommys explains that second trimester loss or late miscarriage can occur between 14 and 22 weeks of pregnancy and it happens to around 3-4% of all pregnancies. It is common for women who experience a second trimester loss to still give birth to their baby naturally in hospital after being induced.
“Harper’s birth brings memories of horrendous physical pain for me,” Adlington said. “It was so traumatic; I can’t even put myself there. The emotional pain was terrible but, because of the induction process, giving birth to her was excruciating. It’s almost like your body is trying to stop you going through the process because, normally, this wouldn’t be happening.
“I’ve had the experience of two other births, so I know it’s painful, but then you have the wonderful outcome at the end. With a stillbirth, that has been taken away from you.”
It’s now been a year since the couple’s loss – an anniversary they were keen to mark. “Andy wanted to do something specific,” Adlington said. “It was important to him. So we had an engraved stone plaque specially made, and placed it on the cherry tree in the garden.
“We lit candles, then went out for food as a family and toasted Harper. I wanted to make the day as upbeat as possible. Of course there were moments when we were upset and crying, but I wanted the occasion to be filled with love, and for us to simply be together.
“It felt important to appreciate what we do have, rather than what we don’t. I have two beautiful children who I love so much, and I am beyond grateful for that. I didn’t want the overarching emotion of that day to be sadness.”
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