Home   News   National   Article

Nicola Sturgeon: I attended memorial service ‘while still having a miscarriage’


By PA News

Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.



Click here to sign up to our free newsletters!
Nicola Sturgeon revealed she was undergoing a miscarriage while at a memorial event (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)

Scotland’s First Minister has told how she attended a memorial service while still having a miscarriage.

Nicola Sturgeon has been open about her baby loss experience in the past, but provided more detail in an interview on the ITV show Loose Women.

Speaking to the hosts, the First Minister was asked how she could deal with such a traumatic experience and continue being a politician.

“If you go online and Google, you can find a photograph of me at an event, actually while I’m still having a miscarriage, a public commemoration for a disaster that happened many decades ago in Scotland,” she said.

Looking at me, looking at that photograph now, it's clear I'm in a lot of pain
Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister

“Looking at me, looking at that photograph now, it’s clear I’m in a lot of pain.”

Ms Sturgeon had earlier said the miscarriage had happened “at the very end of Hogmanay in 2010” and she attended the memorial for the 40th anniversary of the Ibrox disaster on January 3 2011.

Addressing how she dealt with the loss, the First Minister said: “I can only speak for myself, but I think it’s more common than just me – you just bury it.

“You effectively don’t deal with it, you don’t process it.

“I’ve been doing that to one extent or another for all my adult life.”

She added that the baby loss memorial book – an initiative she launched last week – may have helped her to deal with her experience.

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.

Keep up-to-date with important news from your community, and access exclusive, subscriber only content online. Read a copy of your favourite newspaper on any device via the HNM App.

Learn more


This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More