A woman who decided to document the day she found out her baby's gender ended up capturing the moment everything changed.
When Lauren Sowter, from Suffolk in the U.K., first hit record on her phone, she thought she would be posting a video of their "most exciting day." However, as the clip was posted to her TikTok , @ lauren.sowter , shows, it sadly became their "most horrendous."
Sowter had already experienced more than her fair share of pregnancy highs and lows. "I have an 18-month-old daughter named Nova," Sowter told newsrealtime. "But I have also had two pregnancy losses before that."
Sadly, a significant number of pregnancies end in miscarriage. It is estimated that between 10 and 20 percent of known pregnancies end that way, according to figures published by the charity March of Dimes.
Despite those previous losses, Sowter had gone into her private scan that day unaware that anything was wrong. "My body hadn't shown any signs of miscarriage," she said.
That was part of the reason why Sowter had felt confident enough to film her experience that day. "I was already sharing my pregnancy journey on social media and had been since my 12-week scan when everything was confirmed to be fine, so it just felt natural to keep sharing," she said.
However, this new scan brought with it devastating, unexpected news. "Our baby's heart wasn't beating anymore," Sowter said.
Bereft by the news and struggling to process what had unfolded, when Sowter got home later that day, she did something unexpected: she hit record again on her phone.
Sowter ended up cutting together what followed with the footage from earlier in the day. The resulting video captures the excitement and anticipation she felt going into the scan, followed by the shock and distress of learning she had lost her baby.
It is a video that Sowter was determined to share as part of an effort to process what happened and get support on social media.
I'm naturally just a pretty big oversharer," Sowter said. "I process by talking out loud and getting other people's feedback and thoughts, and I don't think pregnancy loss should be hidden, if people are comfortable to share and want to.
Sowter said she wanted to share something that captured the heartbreaking reality that many women and families face.
"So often we're told to keep it to ourselves or 'look on the bright side' when we lose babies, especially if we have other children already, but the truth is it's just devastating and, because of that, it's also very isolating," she said.
Sowter added that is why the video seemed to connect with so many people on the platform. At the time of writing, the clip has been watched over 481,000 times.
I think just so many people could relate "to it and potentially find comfort in hearing other people's experiences," Sowter said. While her experience appeared to resonate with many, sharing her story online has also helped Sowter get more support.
I've been pretty blown away," she said. "I never expected it to reach as many people—it really was mainly just to help me process I've not only had the comments from people, but I've had numerous private messages, many of which have become regular conversations and check-ins with people I didn't know before.
Although Sowter is still working through her feelings, it is good to know there is a support network of like-minded people, ready and willing to listen and engage whenever she needs them.
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