Ashton’s fundraising story: 100 miles in July
After experiencing multiple miscarriages, Ashton and her husband have made it their mission to raise awareness of pregnancy loss. Ashton took part in Miles That Matter 2023, and in July, they completed 100 miles to fundraise for the Miscarriage Association.
Raising money and letting others know about the Miscarriage Association has been a complete privilege, and I extend my sincerest thanks to the M.A for the invaluable support they provide to so many people affected by miscarriage every single day.
In 2016 we found out we were pregnant with our 1st child. We were overjoyed, until the unthinkable happened and we heard those dreaded words: “I’m sorry – there’s no heartbeat”. Something we never thought would happen to us. We were left heartbroken – our pain indescribable. Our lives changed in the blink of an eye – the future we had been planning for with the child we had so desperately wanted taken away from us, and there was nothing we could do about it.
Miscarriage wasn’t on our radar. It’s not something you’re taught about at school. You’re not educated about how common pregnancy loss is, so when it happens to you, it feels like you’re the only person in the world living through it. Miscarriage is not something openly discussed in social circles – it’s an uncomfortable topic, often swept under the carpet.
We were naive to the concept that a pregnancy guarantees you a healthy baby after 9 months, so when it happened to us we had no idea how to think, feel or act. You’re given a plethora of leaflets at the hospital, but often this can feel very overwhelming – chucked in a drawer for another day. Ultimately, there’s no roadmap of how to navigate the devastation caused by pregnancy loss. No handbook guiding you through each phase of grief – you don’t know what’s ‘normal’, what’s not. People don’t know what to say to you, making it a very lonely experience.
Since then, we’ve gone to suffer 4 recurrent miscarriages, been through multiple operations and we’ve been launched full throttle into a world we never knew existed – a world of tests, scans, operations, uncertainty, pain, grief – a perpetual cycle. The innocence of future pregnancies snatched away from us forever. Our lives, never the same.
Since our journey began in 2016, we’ve educated ourselves, and embarked on a journey in recent years to educate others both in and out of the workplace on the stark reality that miscarriage is all too common, but seldom discussed. It’s too often shroud in misplaced stigma and shame. My goal is to do my bit to shift the dial by raising awareness in the workplace, and in social circles. I have been doing this via my LinkedIn profile, providing tips and guidance on how to support an employee through loss.
My husband and I have been supported by the M.A over the years, provided with invaluable advice, information and support, and so last year I participated in Miles that Matter for the M.A, and this year I wanted to set my own challenge and walk 100 miles in July to raise awareness and vital funds – so off we went, with our little dog in tow. I have now completed my challenge, and raised £838.75 for the M.A. Raising money and letting others know about the Association has been a complete privilege, and I extend my sincerest thanks to the M.A. for the invaluable support they provide to so many people affected by miscarriage every single day.
