An In-depth Look at Miscarriage and Its Effects

By: Maria Servold EPLA Editor

Here at the Early Pregnancy Loss Association, we are always glad to see celebrities and others in the public eye share about their experiences with miscarriage. When public figures talk about the pain and significance of miscarriage, more people may come to understand its commonality and tragedy.

​Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Shawn Johnson and her husband, former NFL player Andrew East, recently released a three-part series on their popular podcast, Couple Things, in which they detail the miscarriage they suffered several years ago. They have also made several YouTube videos about their experience. 

Part 1 - Our Miscarriage Story
Part 2 - Dealing with the Miscarriage
Part 3 - Why We Had Mixed Emotions When We Found Out We Were Pregnant 

The podcasts are excellent, as the couple dive deep into how the pregnancy and miscarriage affected them physically and emotionally. They talk a lot about how the experience changed their relationship as a couple - at first for the worse, and eventually for the better. 

The Easts now have a healthy baby girl, and their social media pages show lots of photos and videos of her walking at 9 months old! Of course, what else would we expect from the daughter of two professional athletes? ;)

Thanks to the Easts for their excellent podcast series and for helping to shed light on the effects of miscarriage. 

Maria Servold is an Editor at the EPLA, Assistant Director of the Herbert H. Dow II Program in American Journalism, and Lecturer in Journalism at Hillsdale College.