NICOLA Sturgeon has told how she attended a memorial service while still having a miscarriage.
The outgoing First Minister has been open about her baby loss experience in the past, but provided more detail in an interview on the ITV show Loose Women.
Speaking to the hosts, the FM was asked how she could deal with such a traumatic experience and continue being a politician.
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“If you go online and Google, you can find a photograph of me at an event, actually while I’m still having a miscarriage, a public commemoration for a disaster that happened many decades ago in Scotland,” she said.
“Looking at me, looking at that photograph now, it’s clear I’m in a lot of pain.”
Sturgeon had earlier said the miscarriage had happened “at the very end of Hogmanay in 2010” and she attended the memorial for the 40th anniversary of the Ibrox disaster on January 3, 2011.
Addressing how she dealt with the loss, the First Minister said: “I can only speak for myself, but I think it’s more common than just me – you just bury it.
“You effectively don’t deal with it, you don’t process it.
“I’ve been doing that to one extent or another for all my adult life.”
She added that the baby loss memorial book – an initiative she launched last week – may have helped her to deal with her experience.
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Announcing the policy, Sturgeon said the sense of grief will “stay with me and my husband forever”, adding she would’ve drawn comfort from having a way to mark their loss.
Along with an entry in the book, those who have experienced a pregnancy or baby loss prior to 24 weeks will be able to apply for a commemorative certificate which is intended to give recognition and comfort to those who want to record their loss.
It comes as the FM told the ITV show that the SNP had "mishandled" the row over membership numbers but called for "perspective".
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