A Scots mum has detailed the heartbreak of her sixth miscarriage in a live video online, telling followers "I've never felt so alone".
Blogger Gail Buckie's agony was laid bare in a live I nstagram story after medics told the devastated mum she had miscarried again.
The mum-of-two spoke of her heartbreak at waiting at home for labour to start and through tears revealed she feared she would give birth while her children were in the house.
The 35-year-old, from Edinburgh, was 14 weeks pregnant and said she was posting live about her experience because no woman should have to "go through it alone".
She said: "People don't talk about these things and I really want to know why. I shouldn't have to go through these things alone."
Gail and husband Rory, 36, who are parents to Cora, seven and four-year-old Cassius, were delighted when they announced just last month the family would be welcoming their third child.
But their joy was short-lived when, on Tuesday this week, Gail began suffering from painful stomach cramps.
Having been through the same experience five times before the frantic mum called the Pregnancy Support Unit who booked her in for a scan and revealed her baby had tragically died in the womb.
Gail was then told to go home and wait for labour to come on naturally so she could give birth at home.
But the mum says she was terrified at the thought of that happening while her children were in the house.
She said: "I really don't want it to happen at home. I've got two children here and it's been hard enough trying to explain what's going on.
"He [the baby] is the size of my hand so I'm scared of going into labour at home alone and just expected to get to with it.
"I kind of struggled with the idea of whether I should come on (online) or not or even share what I'm going through, but you know I've always prided myself on the fact that I'm completely honest and open and I'm having a really hard time."
NHS Guidelines state that when a woman suffers a miscarriage the "pregnancy tissue will pass out naturally in 1 or 2 weeks". This is called 'expectant management' and woman are told to wait at home for this.
However, if there are circumstances when that is unlikely to happen or there is a risk posed to the woman, she can choose to be admitted to hospital and have medical or surgical assistance to remove it; known as medical management and surgical management.
Gail says she has a history of haemorrhaging through her losses and births so medics took the decision to book her in today, Friday November 19, for medical management of the miscarriage.
But the mum is facing further heartache as she will need to go through the toughest part of the procedure herself as husband Rory is not allowed to be on the ward with her.
Speaking to the Record, last night Gail said: "I started cramping the last couple of hours. Phoned the Pregnancy Support Unit and they were kind of like 'you know it's just one of these things and it happens at home.
"But it's one of the most loneliness things I have ever ever felt and the fact I have to go through it again is absolutely breaking me. It's not fair, it's so cruel.
"Im still at home I'm with my husband but when I go into hospital I will be alone, I have to be alone and he's not allowed to be with me.
"I should try and get some sleep because I haven't slept since Tuesday night but it looks like that's not happening. I'm too worried about anything happening and the kids seeing it."
Brave Gail, who has an Instagram following of more than 27,000 people, says she decided to share her experience because no woman should suffer "silently".
She said: "I did really think about not sharing this horrible thing because it does make a lot of people sad.
"I know with the messages that people are sending there is so much love and support for me, which has been really nice, but i just don't want anyone else to feel alone. I don't want anyone else to feel like they have to do this silently. It's not right."
The NHS says miscarriages are much more common than most people realise.
Among women who know they're pregnant, it's estimated about 1 in 8 pregnancies will end in miscarriage.
However, many more miscarriages happen before a woman is even aware she has become pregnant.
Losing three or more pregnancies in a row is uncommon and known as recurrent miscarriage and only affects around 1 in 100 women.
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