Helle Vanderheyden shares miscarriage experience from ultrasound

Belgian actress Helle Vanderheyden, known to television audiences for her role as Martha in the VTM series De Kotmadam, has shared her experience following a miscarriage at 36 years old. Nieuwsblad reported that the discovery came during a routine twelve-week ultrasound, where medical professionals informed her that the unborn child’s heart had stopped beating around the ninth week of pregnancy.

Helle Vanderheyden Shares Miscarriage Details From Twelve-Week Ultrasound

The pregnancy had begun three months prior, with Vanderheyden and her partner experiencing cautious optimism before the medical scan revealed the loss. Without that I knew it, Vanderheyden stated in a public account cited by Nieuwsblad. My body had not yet let go of the pregnancy, while our child was no longer there. The actress portrayed Martha in De Kotmadam from 2013 until 2024 and has built a concurrent career in musical theatre with leading roles in productions such as Legally Blonde, Rapunzel, and Hairspray.

Public Figures Offer Support Amid Conversations on Social Pressures

Beyond sharing the medical outcome, Vanderheyden addressed the societal questions frequently directed at couples regarding family planning, such as inquiries about when they plan to have children. You never know what is happening behind closed doors, she noted in reporting covered by Nieuwsblad. Maybe people have been trying for months. Maybe they just got bad news. Maybe they carry a grief that you know nothing about.

The announcement prompted responses from several figures within the Belgian entertainment industry. Fellow actor Peter Van De Velde recounted that his own daughter experienced two miscarriages earlier in the year before becoming pregnant with her first son. Other expressions of support came from Thuis actress Daphne Paelinck, singer Isabelle A, and Miette Dierckx, who noted in Nieuwsblad that she encountered a similar experience following her return from China.

Breaking the Taboo Surrounding Pregnancy Loss

Vanderheyden initially hesitated to publicize the event but ultimately decided to speak out to address the stigma often associated with pregnancy loss. There are so many women who experience this and it is talked about so little, she said, as detailed by Nieuwsblad. A miscarriage is not something to be ashamed of. You are not abnormal if you have grief for someone you were never able to hold in your arms.

Let us be a little softer for each other. With our questions, our words and our expectations. To everyone who has ever experienced this, or is right in the middle of it: you are not alone.

Helle Vanderheyden

The actress concluded her statement with a call for heightened empathy in everyday interactions regarding reproductive expectations. No further public statements regarding her theatrical schedule or upcoming professional engagements have been released by management agencies following the announcement.