Hayley Metcalfe, 37, has shared her experience of losing two babies during pregnancy in an effort to show others that hope is possible even after profound grief.
Metcalfe and her husband, Mike, welcomed their eldest son, George, in 2019. Recalling a normal pregnancy with George, they were excited when Metcalfe became pregnant again in 2023. However, at 19 weeks and four days into the pregnancy, she felt that something was wrong. An ultrasound confirmed their baby, Oscar, had died.
"It sounds awful, but when you know your baby is no longer alive, you just want it all to be over," Metcalfe said. The couple found it difficult to face the baby items they already had at home and had to explain to their son George that his little brother would not be coming home.
Metcalfe was induced into labor the following day, enduring nine hours of labor with the knowledge that she would never hear her baby cry. After the funeral, she described feeling consumed by grief as life moved on around her.
A post-mortem examination revealed that Metcalfe had experienced a silent, concealed placental abruption, a condition where the placenta separates from the wall of the uterus. Later, she experienced another loss at 17 weeks into a subsequent pregnancy. Despite these devastating experiences, Metcalfe is choosing to share her story to provide a message of hope to others facing similar circumstances.