Young Plymouth woman helping others after losing three babies

A young Plymouth couple were left devastated after the loss of their unborn babies. Now, they want to share their sad experience of miscarriages with others as they say it’s something that’s not spoken about enough, while raising funds for the charity which helped them.

Courtney Calcutt was overjoyed to discover she was pregnant last year. She described the feeling as magical and “almost like a dream”. However, her “beautiful dream” turned into any expecting mother’s worst nightmare.

The 25-year-old - and her boyfriend, aged 26, had found out they were expecting in January 2023. Courtney was excited and quickly fell in love with the new life growing inside of her.

Read more:

• Historic Plymouth building with popular bar and restaurant on the market for nearly £2m

• People are all saying one thing about Labour's priorities after landslide win

She said: “I announced the pregnancy to close family members and friends. I had my first midwife appointment. This was really happening, I was going to be a mother.

"Scan day came, the excitement I felt was almost unbearable, I was going to see my baby. I was in the waiting room seeing expecting mothers and fathers with their scan pictures. It was beautiful. It was my turn, my beautiful dream.”

But Courtney was devastated to be told her seven-week-old pregnancy was not presenting a heartbeat. The young couple had to wait a week after that scan to see if any growth of the unborn baby had led to a detectable heartbeat.

Courtney said: “That was one of the longest weeks of my life. Once the week was over, I had another scan. The baby didn't make any progress. My heart was broken. I got sat in a room to discuss my three options and the midwife informed me that mother nature was likely to take its course.”

The 25-year-old had experienced a missed miscarriage. During 2023 she experienced two more losses - and she was left “heartbroken”, but a Plymouth charity helped ease her pain.

Courtney reached out to Plymouth-based charity Pregnancy Crisis Care, the organisation helps women and their partners with any pregnancy related crisis. The charity provides free, confidential support and counselling.

Courtney said: “I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Pregnancy Crisis Care and the amazing work and resources they had to offer. The little keepsakes they give you, to cherish forever. To remember your baby.

“You hear more about older mums struggling to conceive, but there’s a lot of younger women also experiencing the pain of miscarriage too.”

Courtney is now raising funds for Pregnancy Crisis Care in Plymouth City Centre. The charity is on hand to help all women and their partners going through pregnancy-related trauma in the Plymouth and South East Cornwall.

Jane Frajbis, centre manager at Pregnancy Crisis Care said: “It’s amazing to hear that Courtney is raising awareness about miscarriage and also raising much needed funds for our charity. We are so appreciative of her kind efforts and at a time of such pain too. It’s really brave of her and so inspiring. We wish her well and can’t thank her and all those who support her enough.”

You can donate to her GoFundMe fundraiser here.

Click here to join PlymouthLive on WhatsApp and we'll send breaking news and top stories directly to your phone. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice