Coronation Street's stillbirth storyline has prompted parents who have experienced similar losses to speak out about their experiences. Actress Kym Marsh, who gave birth to stillborn son Archie in 2009, expressed hope that the plot would raise awareness. 'I just thought, what better way to raise awareness than this,' she said after the scenes aired on ITV.
Kym revealed on ITV's This Morning that her co-star Simon Gregson's wife has suffered 11 miscarriages, prompting him to share his own experiences. Newsbeat listeners praised the soap for bringing stillbirth to primetime television and shared their own stories.
Annie, 23, who experienced a similar loss last year, found the storyline too distressing to watch but acknowledged its importance. 'Miscarriage and late miscarriage in particular, is quite a difficult thing to talk about for the parents. It is really important to talk about it, so it's great that the soaps have done this storyline,' she said.
Another listener, who wished to remain anonymous, said the storyline persuaded him to break six years of silence about the death of his baby boy in 2010. 'I do think it is good that soaps are covering these storylines because it is quite a taboo subject and there are a lot of couples out there who are suffering in silence,' he said.
A woman who had a stillborn baby 13 years ago at full term described it as 'the most traumatic experience' and said it is 'a good thing to show it on TV and raise awareness'. Experts recommend encouraging those affected to speak about their loss and for friends to offer support. Erica Stewart of stillbirth charity Sands advised: 'If you've got a friend going through this right now, my advice would be to go round, give them a hug, cry with them, help them talk about their baby and give them permission to grieve.'
