shay mitchell miscarriage
Photography by Amy Sussman/REX/Shutterstock

Shay Mitchell Reveals She Had a Miscarriage Last Year

In a series of Instagram stories posted early yesterday, Shay Mitchell revealed she had a miscarriage in 2018. The Canadian actress posted a string of stories on her Instagram account featuring the many highlights of her year, which included things like kayaking on a glacier, becoming a godmother and watching You, the Netflix show in which she currently stars.

Mitchell ended the series by revealing she had suffered a miscarriage that year. “Although it was an amazing year, it didn’t come without some hardships,” the 31-year-old wrote. The next story featured a shot of an ultrasound image with a broken heart emoji.

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photo via instagram/@shaymitchell

A miscarriage occurs when an embryo or fetus dies, and according to the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, miscarriages happen in 15 to 20 per cent of pregnancies, most often occurring during the first eight weeks of pregnancy.

“We all have to deal with various struggles and challenges in life. And sometimes it’s easier to only showcase the good times on social media, which is what leads many people to criticize it for its lack of authenticity,” she wrote.

“The support and affection that so many of you show me lifts me up during even my darkest days, one of which happened last year after I miscarried and lost the child of my hopes and dreams.”

“Although it was an amazing year, it didn’t come without some hardships.”

According to Planned Parenthood, feelings of grief and sadness are completely normal in those who suffer from miscarriages, and that the amount of time it takes to recover emotionally varies from person to person.

Mitchell is one of the many women in the public eye who are opening up about their experiences with miscarrying, which helps in combating the stigma that surrounds it. Late last year, former FLOTUS Michelle Obama wrote about a miscarriage that left her feeling “failed” and “broken” in her memoir, Becoming.

The actress ended her story by urging her followers to be compassionate and empathetic in 2019. “In the spirit of the new year, I think that we need… to remind ourselves that we seldom really know or understand the struggles and hardships that other people are going through.”

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