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Life

13th Jan 2017

Kym Marsh campaigns for stillborn babies to be given birth certificates

Megan Roantree

Kym lost her own baby boy 8 years ago, and her character on Coronation Street is currently facing the same heartbreak.

Coronation Street viewers will be aware that Kym Marsh’s character Michelle is currently dealing with the aftermath of her baby being stillborn. The actress herself also lost a child 8 years ago and many have praised her for her powerful portrayal of this on the soap.

Kym lost a little boy named Archie in 2009 and has used her personal struggle to ensure the storyline is handled properly.

In the next episode of the show, Michelle will find out that her son will not be issued a birth certificate.

Kym spoke out about how she is hoping that this storyline will raise awareness and encourage others to campaign for this to be changed.

She said that the term ‘late miscarriage’ bothered her.

”It really annoyed me and it angered me. I had just given birth to a baby. I didn’t miscarry my baby, I gave birth to him, and why is there no birth certificate?” She said.

“The clue is in the name, ‘birth certificate’. So why? Because he didn’t survive? Because he wasn’t ‘viable’? What is that? When I’m not here anymore, no-one will know that my baby existed. And that’s the thing that upsets a lot of women, where you can’t have a birth certificate.” She told Digital Spy.

According to the Mirror, Kym is hoping this will help encourage a change in the law.

“The fact I didn’t get a birth certificate for Archie means that when I’m gone there’s no record of him.

“He won’t be on our family tree and yet I gave birth to him. We celebrate his birthday every year and let off balloons.

“My daughter Polly knows she had a brother yet there is no record of his birth.” She said.

 

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kym marsh