Britney Spears is being applauded for shattering the stigma over the "12-week rule"; the implicit instruction that women shouldn't share news of their pregnancy until they've reached the 12-week mark.
According to pregnancy charity Tommy's, most miscarriages happen within the first 12 weeks. As a result, the unspoken "12-week rule" suggests that expecting parents should not share news of their pregnancy until after the first trimester, as the unborn child has a better chance of surviving the full term.
The 40-year-old star revealed in a heartbreaking Instagram post on Saturday (May 14) that she and her fiancé Sam Asghari are no longer expecting after losing thier unborn child.
The couple shared a joint statement that was captioned: "We are grateful for what we have in the process of expanding our beautiful family. Thank you for your support."
Spears and Asghari wrote in the post: "It is with our deepest sadness we have to announce that we have lost our miracle baby early in the pregnancy. This is a devastating time for any parent.
"Perhaps we should have waited to announce until we were further along however we were overly excited to share the good news."
The post continued: "Our love for each other is our strength. We will continue trying to expand our beautiful family. We are grateful for all of your support. We kindly ask for privacy during this difficult moment."
Women are praising the 'Toxic' hitmaker for being open about her miscarriage and are saying it is inspiring other women not to feel ashamed of experiencing pregnancy loss before the 12-week mark, especially after announcing the news to loved ones.
Dr. Alex Thornton wrote on Twitter: "The shaming around miscarriage after announcing the pregnancy before 12 weeks is a disgraceful part of the narrative around baby loss. Nobody should have to carry this on top of their grief. I hope @britneyspears can draw comfort from the love and support of well-wishers."
Katy Schnitzler, an expert in reproductive health and pregnancy support, also tweeted: "Such devastating news for Britney Spears.
"The part where she says maybe she shouldn’t have told people yet is a theme I come across a lot in my research. @uberbarrensclub wrote a fantastic article about the 12-week rule and why this silences people and reinforces the taboo."
Fans also took to Spears' comment section to send support under her heartbreaking Instagram announcement and thank her for her vulnerability.
One user commented: "I'm thankful you announced. There is [a] stigma with announcing too early, and then with miscarriage, you have to be quiet. By doing this, you're allowing space for others to heal just [like] you. The more we speak about it, the more we all know we experience it together. I'm sorry for your loss."
Another expressed: "Can we normalize sharing pregnancy news in the first trimester? Who cares if hearing about loss makes some people uncomfortable. As women, we shouldn't be pressured to [conceal] our 'condition'.
"I wish I knew how common miscarriage was when I had my first. It would have been nice to know about other women's [experiences] beforehand. There's no shame in it. If women feel better to share, then it should be encouraged. Not talking about conception or pregnancy struggles isn't healthy for young women or anyone for that matter."
Per The Guardian, the secrecy around early pregnancy means that many women grieve in silence. We hope that with Spears' unfortunate news, more women can see that sharing their loss isn't shameful and have space to heal.
Our thoughts are with Britney and Sam at this time.
