The Silent Grief of Stillbirth: A MotherS Story

A tiny hand placed on those of her parents. This photo was taken on August 3, 2016. Charlotte Hascoët had just given birth to Désirée. But no screams accompanied this moment.The little girl had died a few hours earlier, in utero. Almost six months pregnant.

“My husband and I were able to spend some time with her. Then she was taken away from us.It’s like I’ve had something amputated. I came home, empty,”

– Charlotte Hascoët.

In an ebook recently published online, Charlotte Hascoët shares her experience, offering advice on this death still considered taboo, and providing guidance in these traumatic moments for the mother, but also the couple, and siblings…

Pregnancy with an IUD

Her pregnancy was not expected. Charlotte Hascoët was onyl 23 years old at the time and was finishing her nursing studies. In a relationship for nine months, she wore an IUD. “I found out I was pregnant at two months. We could no longer remove the IUD because it had moved back into the uterus,” she relates.

A first gynecologist warns her that the pregnancy will be risky. However, her case is not unique. Sometimes women carry their pregnancies to term despite the presence of an IUD.

Hemorrhage on Hemorrhage

After the initial shock, Charlotte Hascoët and her partner were delighted to welcome this child. But the pregnancy became complex: the IUD caused repeated hemorrhages.the future mother was regularly transfused.

“I almost passed because I was losing to much blood. But what mattered to me was Désirée.”

– Charlotte Hascoët.