Rebecca Adlington announces stillbirth of her baby daughter Harper in heartbreaking post
Rebecca Adlington has announced the stillbirth of her daughter.
The former competitive swimmer, 34, took to Instagram on Sunday evening to share the heartbreaking news.
She wrote: ‘I don’t really have the words for it right now, but unfortunately we went for our 20 week scan this week and they didn’t find a heartbeat.
“I gave birth to our angel, Harper, on Friday at 7 p.m. We held her and had time with her. We will love her forever and always remember her.”
Rebecca already shares son Albie, two, with husband Andy Parsons, as well as daughter Summer, eight, from her previous marriage to swimmer Harry Needs.
Worrying news: Rebecca Adlington has announced the stillbirth of her daughter (photo during her pregnancy)
Tough: The former competitive swimmer, 34, took to Instagram on Sunday night to share the heartbreaking news
Her post was flooded with kind support from her friends and followers offering messages of support.
Rebecca revealed her third pregnancy in September this year – a year after the couple had a devastating miscarriage.
Rebecca captioned her social media post: “Our own piece of magic Baby number 3 on the way.”
It comes after Rebecca said she felt ‘responsible’ for the tragic miscarriage she suffered last year and revealed how the heartbreak made her reluctant to try for a third child again.
Rebecca went to hospital for her 12-week scan and later had to go down for emergency surgery after discovering she had miscarried the child.
After being sent home following surgery, Rebecca had to be readmitted to treat sepsis, a kidney infection and fever.
In an interview with The mirror, Rebecca said: ‘Because I had two children without any problems, I never thought about miscarriage. I realize this may sound naive, but I expected some signals.
‘I really felt responsible for the miscarriage, even though it wasn’t my fault. I remember talking to the doctors and they said there was nothing I could have done to prevent what happened.”
Well wishes: Her post was flooded with kind support from her friends and followers offering messages of support
Announcement: Last month, Rebecca revealed she was expecting another child with husband Andy Parsons, a year after the couple suffered a devastating miscarriage
Heartbreak: It comes after Rebecca said she feels ‘responsible’ for the tragic miscarriage she suffered last year
“But you’ve had the pressure of protecting something for nine months – this delicate being, this precious, special, incredible baby – and it just seemed crazy because I’ve done it twice before and it went fine.”
Andy and Rebecca married in a Cheshire ceremony in August, five months after welcoming their son.
The couple met in 2018 on dating app Bumble, with the swimmer gushing after their wedding: ‘It worked out perfectly for us. We couldn’t be happier.”
The couple started dating two years after the swimmer split from her ex-husband Harry, and she previously admitted she was nervous about dating again.
The couple quickly fell in love and facilities manager Andy moved from Liverpool to join Becky in Manchester in 2019.
Rebecca, who won two gold medals at the 2008 Olympics and two bronze medals at London 2012, was previously married to Summer’s father Harry – and the couple split in 2016.
As a result of Rebecca’s two gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics, she became Great Britain’s first Olympic swimming champion since 1988. In 2013, at the age of 23, she retired from all competitive swimming.
Horrifying: Last year Rebecca went to hospital for her 12-week scan and later had to go down for emergency surgery after discovering she had miscarried the child