'After I lost my baby, I wanted to help other women'

A businesswoman who suffered a miscarriage has explained how the loss led her to taking the "scary step" of leaving her job and setting out on a new career.

Sam Naughton was head of brand communications for Yorkshire Tea and travelled the globe for more than a decade as part of her role.

"I got to go to all of the places where the tea and coffee was grown... I went to Kenya, Rwanda, Peru, all over the world travelling.

"I was in Australia supporting the England cricket team - we did some huge, huge campaigns. It was amazing."

But everything changed when she suffered a miscarriage 10 weeks into the pregnancy of her second child.

Sam, now 45, already had daughter Ruby from a previous relationship, but when she and husband Ben decided they'd like another child, Sam was in her late 30s.

After months of trying Sam, originally from Penistone, South Yorkshire, became pregnant.

She and her husband named the baby Willow and began to make plans, but, while on a weekend away, Sam began bleeding and, despite initial reassurances, it was later discovered the foetus had no heartbeat.

"I never thought in a million years something bad could happen," she explained.

"You plan everything, and when you see a positive line on a pregnancy test, you are already looking at what your due date is and when they'll be going to school - you are thinking about your future."

Sam had to undergo a medical process alone due to Covid restrictions at the time.

"I was just by myself and the nurses were absolutely amazing. There was one nurse who held my hand the whole time because I was just bereft.

"I was so upset," she said.

However, Sam struggled to go back to life as normal but became pregnant with son Alby a few months later.

Due to her previous experiences she became extremely anxious and was "scared constantly".

"I was all over the place. My resting heart rate... was about 90 because I was so scared constantly.

"Every time I went to the toilet, I had toilet anxiety - every little kind of twinge or tweak".

Sam said she was lucky enough to be assigned the same midwife as decribed her as her "saving grace".

"She was incredible, nothing was too much trouble," she added.

For reassurance Sam paid for extra scans, beyond the two provided on the NHS.

However, after her miscarriage, she found some of the experiences unhelpful.

"I knew how quickly it could change from there being a heartbeat to not being one, but everywhere I went, I felt like I didn't belong there.

"There were women with their newborns doing hand and footprint casting in the reception area of the clinics.

"I knew if I went into that room and had the worst news, I'd have to walk back past them, and it felt set up for people who'd never experienced what I experienced," she said.

Her pregnancy ended positively with the birth of her son in 2022, but the previous two years left an impact on her.

In 2024 she accepted redundancy struck out with a career change.

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She and husband Ben put their savings into creating a private fertility and wellbeing clinic.

Their Harrogate-based Cocoon business now offers ultrasound scans, midwifery advice and talking therapy, including free sessions around baby loss, pregnancy anxiety or fertility-related trauma.

Sam said she was keen that her new business worked to reduce anxiety and traumatic feelings to "make sure people had the best experience no matter the outcome of their pregnancy".

Now, two years on from starting as her own boss Sam still admits to nerves around her business.

"I just had a feeling in my heart it was going to work out. Is it scary? Yes, every single day - but ultimately it's the right thing."

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