Coronation Street stillbirth plot inspires others to speak out

Coronation Street's stillbirth storyline has inspired parents who have also lost children to speak about their experiences.

Actress Kym Marsh, who gave birth to stillborn son Archie in 2009, said she had hoped it would inspire others.

"I just thought, what better way to raise awareness than this," she said after the scenes were broadcast on ITV.

The storyline prompted her co-star Simon Gregson to speak about his experiences of losing a child.

Kym told ITV's This Morning programme that Simon's wife has suffered 11 miscarriages.

Newsbeat listeners, many of whom praised the soap for bringing stillbirth to primetime television, have shared their own experiences.

Annie supports the Coronation Street plot but was unable to watch the scenes

"I went through something similar to Kym's character last year," 23-year-old Annie tells Newsbeat.

She says she found the storyline too distressing to watch but says it's "really important" to open up the topic of stillbirth for discussion.

"Miscarriage and late miscarriage in particular, is quite a difficult thing to talk about for the parents," she says.

"For friends and family it can be uncomfortable to bring up and find out how they are feeling. It is really important to talk about it, so it's great that the soaps have done this storyline."

Another listener, who did not want to be named, told us that the Coronation Street storyline persuaded him to break six years of silence about the death of his baby boy.

"Watching Coronation Street last night did bring back quite a lot of bad memories," he tells Newsbeat.

"I was lucky enough to see my son every day for a month, which I do count as a blessing and I do have good memories from that.

"I do think it is good that soaps are covering these storylines because it is quite a taboo subject and there are a lot of couples out there who are suffering in silence.

"This is also the first time I have openly spoken about the loss of my boy and that happened in 2010."

Angela got in touch with Newsbeat to share her son's story.

"I had a stillborn baby boy 13 years ago at full term and it was the most traumatic experience I have ever had," she says.

"It is a good thing to show it [stillbirth] on TV and raise awareness, even if it just gets people talking about the high number of stillbirths we have in this country compared to other advanced countries."

Experts recommend encouraging those who have experienced the loss of a child to speak about their loss and for friends to offer support.

"If you've got a friend going through this right now, my advice would be to go round, give them a hug, cry with them, help them talk about their baby and give them permission to grieve," says Erica Stewart of stillbirth and neo-natal death charity Sands.

"Help them with any practical things - like cooking meals, taking the dog for a walk or taking other children to school - just be there for them and let them know you're there."

The NHS has links to information and support for anyone affected by stillbirth.

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