Life; interrupted

“Losing a baby is a shock like no other... You will watch your body backtrack, go into reverse, unpicking its work.”

This moving quote from novelist Maggie O’Farrell opens the film Who’s Counting and sets the tone for a difficult watch.

The tension of waiting, the daring not to hope, the excruciating mental and physical pain of a failed pregnancy and the stress that it places on a loving couple – all are brilliantly conveyed in this film written and directed by Ben Lankester and produced by The Progress Film Company. 

One in four pregnancies end in miscarriage, yet the total number of miscarriages in the UK is currently unrecorded. This subject is close to the hearts of director and his wife Pannie Lun who have gone through two miscarriages and decided to partner with the pregnancy and baby loss charity Tommy’s to create a drama about a couple who have to endure the trauma of successive losses. 

The film has led to Tommy's creating the 'Record of Loss', where parents who have experienced miscarriage are being encouraged to add their names to the database and be part of the very first attempt to count the number of miscarriages in the UK.

Currently a woman has to have three miscarriages in a row to qualify for support.