Mum reveals in heartbreaking Instagram post how suffering a miscarriage taught her a valuable lesson
WHEN talking about miscarriage, you hardly expect a grieving mum-to-be to use the word "grateful".
But that is exactly the word one mum used when she revealed the heartbreaking news she had lost her baby two weeks after finding out she was pregnant.
Shelly Mettling revealed the news her and her husband had suffered a miscarriage on Instagram.
She explained that, despite her initial feelings of anger and sadness, she was holding onto the feeling of gratitude she felt when they found out they were expecting what would have been their third child.
Shelley, a fitness entrepreneur based in Minnesota, wrote: "I'm grateful that I got to feel (even for a short time) the power of motherhood.
"I'm grateful that I got to experience the bond that a woman feels the instant she finds out she is growing a little human in her belly.
"I'm grateful I got to feel the love I was capable of feeling/giving to someone that I had never even met.
"I'm grateful for the fact that God gave me this experience to test my strength.
"I'm grateful for the family and friends that have been checking in on me and lifting me up when I've been so knocked down it's hard to visualise standing again.
"I'm sad, I'm heartbroken, I'm torn to pieces. But I'm grateful."
Shelly finished her post saying a grateful heart is a magnet for miracles and "life has still got those in store for me".
Miscarriages are far more common in the UK than people assume, affecting one in six pregnancies.
TRAGIC TURN What is a miscarriage, what are the signs and causes and how common are they in early pregnancy?
A miscarriage is the loss of a baby during the first 23 weeks of pregnancy.
There are many reasons why a miscarriage can occur, but the majority are not caused by anything a mother has done.
A common cause is thought to be abnormal chromosomes in the baby.
If a baby has not enough or too many chromosomes, it will be unable to grow or develop properly.
Miscarriages that happen during the second trimester of the pregnancy (between weeks 14 and 26) can sometimes be the result of an underlying health condition in the mother, but this is not always the case.
Many more miscarriages happen before a woman knows she is pregnant and most cannot be prevented.
Recurring miscarriages, which are when three or more pregnancies are lost in a row, are less common, affecting one in 100 women.
But tere are ways you can lower the risk of one - such as avoiding smoking, drugs and consuming alcohol during the pregnancy.
Being a healthy weight and following a healthy diet can help reduce your risk of infection.
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