Richmond solicitor running Great North Run to tackle stigma of miscarriage

Lisa Potts, right, with friend Sarah Morrice, who is running with her.

Richmond solicitor Lisa Potts will take part in the Great North Run today to raise awareness about miscarriages.

Lisa had a miscarriage at 12 weeks in March this year and says she and partner Matt Spencer were shocked to find it affects one in four women.

She said she had found the loss very difficult.

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“You go through this most painful experience, you are grieving for the baby that you lost, the future that you had planned, which is so suddenly taken from you, all in relative silence.

“The physical pain of that week was truly awful and the emotional pain is ever present.”

Lisa added: “I have found there is still a stigma around miscarriage and that it is something you shouldn’t really talk about, yet it affects so many women.

“So I wanted to raise awareness and support for women and encourage people to talk about it without shame.”

Lisa started running to help her cope with the extra work and responsibility when she took over Hunton & Garget solicitors in Richmond after Stephen Garget retired in October 2015.

“It helped me greatly then, and has also done so again to deal with this, so I thought running the Great North Run would be a great way for me to honour the memory of our little one, and also encourage others to talk about this painful ordeal.

“As a professional woman and business owner in Richmond I strive to always be providing the best service to the Richmond community. I believe there is no better place to live and work, with fantastic people, who are compassionate and supportive, but if those people are suffering in silence due to the stigma, the community cannot support them.”

Lisa is raising money for Tommy’s which provides support to women suffering baby loss and funds important research into miscarriage.

She will be running with friend Sarah Morrice.

Hunton & Garget will be matching all funds raised by Lisa. The company is also organising events in the office, with card sales, bake sales and a charitable evening.

To sponsor Lisa click here.