I’ve decided to honour my experience of emotional freefall earlier this year by jumping out of an aeroplane to see what literal and physical freefall feels like (in tandem with someone who knows exactly the right moment to pull the cord for the parachute).

It’s the scariest thing I can imagine making myself do, which up until recently, I was certain I would never have reason to do.

I’m doing this jump to raise money for Tommy’s. Tommy’s helps people affected by miscarriage, stillbirth and baby loss. Their research and initiatives are so important in helping so many.

I’m also doing it because I want people to know that they don’t have to go through these experiences alone. Miscarriage is still one of life’s great taboos. Some who go through it won’t want to share their experience but others might suffer far more than they need to by feeling like society doesn’t want to know, isolated in and by their grief.

I would love for anyone affected by miscarriage, stillbirth or baby loss not to have to feel any shred of hesitation in talking to the people in their lives if they want to, in whatever way feels appropriate for them, about what they have experienced or are experiencing. That goes for family, friends and work colleagues. That shouldn’t impact the right of others to stay quiet if they wish to.

My own experience has been that the people around me are only too willing to listen, and have shown me and my husband unbelievable support. We just needed to take the first step in breaking the taboo.

In April this year, my husband and I dragged ourselves through ten excruciating days that felt like a lifetime, when complications with our third pregnancy in 12 months had us feeling paralysed with fear, confusion and disbelief - an emotional freefall. We had four scans in that time, three of them showed all the right signs of healthy growth, two of them showed a healthy heartbeat but the last confirmed our third consecutive loss. I have never felt so afraid as I did during those final days before the final scan. They were easily the hardest days of my life so far, alongside many of those that have followed. We continue to deal with the repercussions of our three losses, all so different, on a minute day-to-day level but also on a larger scale and in all likelihood, we always will.

This is the experience of so many and touches everything in a person’s life.

Any donation you are able to make to Tommy’s would be incredibly welcome. Every family we can spare from this or at the very least better support, is in itself a very worthy cause.

I’m jumping on Friday 30th August, all being well weather-wise…