Cork students campaign to break stigma around miscarriage and infertility in schools

A quarter of pregnancies can end in miscarriage, the Transition Year students at St Angela’s College were surprised to learn.

A group of Cork teenage girls who took part in a year-long project on infertility and miscarriage with maternity staff have said every teen should be given the information to help tackle stigma.

A quarter of pregnancies can end in miscarriage, the Transition Year students at St Angela’s College were surprised to learn.

They have now created an illustrated booklet with help from Dublin-based illustrator Amy Lauren which can be shared on social media or in posters and other forms to raise awareness.

Their work was displayed on Thursday evening during an event in the school.

Kate Colbert said: “I learned so much about pregnancy loss and infertility that I never knew before and I think every teenager should be informed on this topic.” 

Her classmate Rose Foley said there are “so many other issues women go through that aren’t spoken about enough.” 

Isabelle McCarthy agreed, saying after her studies: “I know this is going to help me in the future and it’s so important for young people to know.” 

They had weekly workshops in school with members of the Pregnancy Loss Research Group (PLRG) based at University College Cork.

The idea came from healthcare staff who were struck by how little the public knows about miscarriage or infertility until this happens to them.

The students visited Cork University Maternity Hospital in October with their teacher, Shelly Whelan.

Knowing the statistics is important for them, Ms Whelan said, adding: “It’s taking away that guilt and that blame that women can sometimes put on themselves.” 

The girls are also more aware of the risk of infertility now, she said.

“And for boys to learn about this as well in senior cycle is going to be really important because they’re going to be the partners and they’re going to be the dads,” she said.

She can already see her students sharing what they have learned. 

“And it’s also allowing those conversations to start about ‘oh so-and-so experienced that’ or for that person to say ‘I experienced that and nobody knew what to say to me because it wasn’t spoken about’,” she said.

She has found this herself as she tells other teachers or friends about their work.

“A couple of people have said to me ‘I had a miscarriage and people came up to me and said ‘at least you know you can get pregnant’,” she said.

“People were saying it from a place of goodness or kindness but they weren’t sure how to speak to somebody that was going through it.” 

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

Dr Keelin OÕDonoghue, Consultant Obstetrician at Cork University Maternity Hospital. Picture: Diane Cusack

She also saw the girls learn about new career options when they studied with people in less well-known maternity roles.

The PLRG is led by Professor Keelin O’ Donoghue who supported the work.

Dr Laura Linehan, consultant obstetrician at Cork University Maternity Hospital, is co-lead on the project with Dr Brendan Fitzgerald.

She has worked with women and their partners devastated by losing a baby in pregnancy or struggling to conceive.

“We identified that these difficult experiences are accompanied by a deep sense of frustration that these topics are not discussed with people until they happen to them,” she said.

She said the 24 students showed "incredible empathy and dedication in developing these resources to share this key information with young people”.

The next phase will be working together to find ways to integrate these topics into the relevant secondary school curriculum.

They would also like to see resources for these types of workshops to be developed nationally.