‘I lost two babies when they were starved of nutrients in the womb’

During Baby Loss Awareness Week, Monique Sveinsson, 48, from St Neots, tells how she survived a stillbirth and a miscarriage

- LEBBY EYRES

The theatre was always a massive part of my life. For years I worked as a stage manager on big shows like A Chorus Line and High School Musical. I loved the glamour, the greasepaint and the backstage fun.

The hours were long and during touring everyone socialised together. That was how I met my husband Ágúst, originally from Iceland, when he was working as a drummer on High School Musical in 2009. We were both around 35 when we met and we quickly fell in love and planned a family together.

My passion for theatre life started to wane when we had our first daughter, Isabelle, in July 2011. I went back to work when she was one, but it got harder when I became pregnant again in July 2013. By then I was working on War Horse six days a week, working 80 hours, and we relied on babysitters and my parents to look after Isabelle.  My second pregnancy felt different – the baby didn’t squirm around as much. Movements were a rarity and I often went to the doctors to get her heartbeat checked.

I instinctively felt something was wrong. Then, at 30 weeks, the day before my husband’s 40th birthday, my worst fears were realised. I caught sight of myself in a mirror on stage and my belly had dropped. We were about to go to Iceland and were staying at my mum’s in Essex. That night, I said to Ágúst, “Something’s wrong.”