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The Conversation

Factual: Life Stories

Two women from different parts of the world share the stories of their lives

Two women from different parts of the world, united by a common passion, experience or expertise, share the stories of their lives.

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The Conversation: The miscarriage that changed my life

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The miscarriage that changed my life

07/02/2022 GMT

BBC World Service - The Conversation, The miscarriage that changed my life

Two women from Kenya and Colombia on why it’s important to talk about miscarriage

Wanjiru Kihusa and Paula Ávila-Guillen use their personal experience of having a miscarriage to help other people heal.

It is estimated that one in four pregnancies will end in a miscarriage. But despite being a common occurrence, this topic is still shrouded in secrecy, stigma and shame. Kim Chakanetsa meets two women who are using their first-hand experience to help other people heal.
 
Wanjiru Kihusa is a maternal health advocate from Kenya who lost two of her three children through miscarriage. She’s the founder of Still A Mum, a charity offering support to parents who have lost their babies. She also trains health care workers, religious leaders and managers to better support grieving parents.
 
Paula Ávila-Guillen is a human rights lawyer from Colombia and the Executive Director at the Women’s Equality Center, a non-profit based in New York. Since 2014, Paula has been working in El Salvador, a country where a strict abortion ban led to 181 women being imprisoned after having obstetric emergencies – including in cases where they said they had suffered miscarriages or stillbirths. In 2019, Paula had a miscarriage herself – an experience that brought her even closer to the women she works with.

Produced by Alice Gioia

(Image: (L) Paula Ávila-Guillen, credit Pablo Salgado. (R) Wanjiru Kihusa, courtesy Wanjiru Kihusa)

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