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Listen: Claire Cullen Del Sol of Vilomah on pregnancy loss and support

Listen: Claire Cullen Del Sol of Vilomah on pregnancy loss and support
Jordan Norris
Jordan Norris

On Deise Today on Tuesday August 16th, Damien was joined in studio by Claire Cullen Del Sol from Vilomah - a non profit social enterprise which she set up with her friend and business partner, Jen Ryan.

Claire opened up on the loss of her daughter Alex in 2015. She had a condition called Patau Syndrome which was diagnosed at 22 weeks.

Claire outlined to Damien how she did not want to continue the pregnancy knowing that Alex wouldn't survive, but she hadn't got any other choice at the time in Ireland.

Ms. Cullen Del Sol previously spoke to the late Billy McCarthy many years ago on WLR, before the referendum - about how the 8th Amendment affected her experience and how much extra pain her and her family went through waiting for Alex to die so that she could deliver her stillborn.

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While Claire still works with people who are having terminations for medical reasons both here and abroad - she also focuses on pregnancy loss and has created a set of tools with her business partner Jen that are designed to help with acknowledgement, support and education around pregnancy loss.

"To grieve an unborn baby was considered sort of wasteful. A waste of energy. The idea was you're just to get pregnant again and focus upon your living family. That does a huge disservice to parents. To lose a baby, to lose a child - is as huge a loss as it is to lose anybody else in your life."

You can hear the full interview by clicking on the play button on the photo above.

You can find Vilomah by clicking the link here while they are also on social channels at the handle @vilomah.ie

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