Jools Oliver says she could have ‘not survived’ miscarriage as she calls for more baby loss aftercare

‘It was like a murder scene. It’s so visually hideous. I don’t remember the rest,’ says the mother of five

Jools and Jamie Oliver (EPA)

Jools Oliver has called for a change in provision of miscarriage aftercare after detailing her own experience, which she says she might not have survived because “it was so much blood loss”.

During a conversation on the Life & Soul Podcast, the mum-of-five recalled what happened during her second miscarriage.

Oliver began to bleed heavily while she was at the doctors having a breast check. After almost fainting, she got into the car to drive home but instead went to the hospital nearby.

“I was near the Portland [hospital] and I thought, ‘I’m actually gonna drive to hospital’. So I sat in the car and it was just getting heavier. I thought, ‘OK, I’m gonna die’. So I phoned the Portland. I begged them to come and get us, ‘Please come and get me because I’m bleeding’.”

Oliver remembers a woman coming to her on Marylebone High Street with a wheelchair to take her to the hospital: “Jamie [Oliver] arrived and he was like, ‘Oh my god’. It was like a murder scene. It’s so visually hideous. I don’t remember the rest. I must have almost passed out.

“I mean, had I left it, had I taken the journey to go home and not the hospital I don’t think I would have survived because it was so much blood loss.”

Speaking to Zoe Clark-Coates, the founder of baby loss charity Saying Goodbye, Oliver urged women to be more open about miscarriage.

She said women should be visited by nurses after losing a child in the same way new mothers are visited at home: “Having had five [babies], I know a lot needs to change for other people much younger than me who will go through this.

Explaining the changes to baby loss after care that she would like to see, Oliver continued: “You cannot pack someone off and say, ‘Off you go. Go and pass your baby and you’ll be fine’.

“I don’t know how they can do that, I don’t know why they do that. Why aren’t they calling you every day and saying, ‘Darling, it’s me I’m your midwife. How much blood loss have you had? How do you feel?’”

“They do when they come to check the health of the baby every day, why can’t they do that with a miscarriage, as it could be fatal.”

An estimated one in four pregnancies ends in miscarriage, according to Tommy’s baby charity, and about one in 100 women in the UK experience recurrent miscarriages (three or more in a row).

The full episode of the Life & Soul Podcast featuring Jools Oliver is out Tuesday 10 August and is available to listen to on Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify and Acast.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact stillbirth and neonatal death charity Sands on 0808 164 3332 or email helpline@sands.org.uk. The helpline is open from 9.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday, and until 9.30pm on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. You can contact the Miscarriage Association helpline on 01924 200799 or email the charity at info@miscarriageassociation.org.uk. The helpline is open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday. You can also find bereavement support at The Lullaby Trust by calling 0808 802 6868 or emailing support@lullabytrust.org.uk. To contact Petals to enquire about the charity’s counselling services, you can call 0300 688 0068 or email counselling@petalscharity.org. You can also visit Saying Goodbye.