In a world that embraces joyous pregnancy announcements and heartwarming baby stories, the silent pain of miscarriage and stillbirth remains hidden in the shadows. This devastating experience, deeply felt by those who go through it, is often accompanied by stigma and shame.
Despite this, US actress Tiffany Haddish (43) is opening up about her own experience on this ‘taboo’ matter.
In a recent interview, Haddish shared her personal journey of eight miscarriages, speaking of her pain and hopes for motherhood in the future.
Miscarriage and stillbirth, which affect an estimated 10-15% of women who know they are pregnant, remain deeply private and laden with societal expectations.
The World Health Organisation identifies the global issue of stigma that prevents open discussions and hinders healing for those experiencing pregnancy loss.
With unwavering honesty and vulnerability, Tiffany Haddish opens up about her heart-wrenching journey through eight miscarriages.
In a poignant moment during her interview with The Washington Post, she shared her fears and the challenges she faces due to her unique uterus shape, confiding in her doctor's nurse.
“Well, I’m going to be honest with you. This would be my eighth one,” Haddish said when recounting a conversation with her doctor’s nurse following her most recent miscarriage. “I’ve got a uterus shaped like a heart. It just won’t keep anything in.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, if you have a bicornuate uterus, also known as a heart-shaped uterus, you were born with a uterus that seems to have two sides rather than one hollow cavity in which the two sides fuse as they normally do.
A bicornuate uterus is a rare, congenital condition that can cause complications during pregnancy.
Only about 3% of women have any kind of anomaly in the size, form, or shape of their uterus, making it a relatively rare condition.
Normally symptom and trouble-free, for those with a heart-shaped uterus, pregnancy is the time when complications can arise.
For doctors to detect a heart-shaped uterus, ultrasound is the most often used diagnostic tool and without this, in the absence of pregnancy, you may not even know you have it.
The actress then revealed that her fear of worrying others caused her to keep the miscarriages private, aside from discussing the matter with one close friend.
She said: “I don’t want people saying, ‘Are you OK? Are you alright?'
“Like a wounded animal, I just rather go in a cave by myself. Lick my wounds.”
Like many others, Haddish's revelation highlights the detrimental impact of carrying the weight of pregnancy loss alone. Many women, overwhelmed by emotional fragility, suffer their grief in isolation.
In 2017, “The Perfect Find” star Gabrielle Union also shared her fertility struggles in her memoir, “We’re Going to Need More Wine”, where she revealed that she had suffered roughly 8 to 9 miscarriages before attempting to have “our meme shadybaby” (Kaavia James) with former NBA star husband Dwyane Wade.
Other stars facing similar struggles include Jennifer Anniston, Chrissy Teigen and former first lady, Michelle Obama.
While Haddish later revealed that she took parenting classes to adopt, “The Washington Post” reported that the actress still isn't sure if she wants to be a mother.
“I would love to have a partner to experience it with. But also, I guess I’ve been alone for so long. And so used to being abandoned, I expect it. Which is sad, right?”