The tragic death of Cristiano Ronaldo’s new-born son will be ‘very triggering and upsetting’ for many Irish parents who have experience similar loss.
In a joint message with his partner Georgina Rodriguez last night, the Manchester United forward described the death as the “greatest pain that any parent can feel”.
The couple were expecting twins and they confirmed that while their daughter was born, their son did not survive.
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) April 18, 2022
“Only the birth of our baby girl gives us the strength to live this moment with some hope and happiness,” they wrote.
“We would like to thank the doctors and nurses for all their expert care and support," the statement read.
“We are all devastated at this loss and we kindly ask for privacy at this very difficult time. Our baby boy, you are our angel. We will always love you.”
On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Nina Doyle, spokesperson for Féileacáin, a charity supporting those who lose babies during or after pregnancy, said the news will be triggering for many parents this morning.
“We lost baby twins ourselves - Liam and Grace Doyle, a little boy and a little girl - and I suppose the news last night will be triggering for many parents out there,” she said.
“I am involved with the charity Féileacáin and I mean this is something we hear about all the time but the difference when it is somebody like Ronaldo and Georgina is that it is going to be in the media for the next few days and people who have been sadly affected by baby loss are going to find it very triggering and very upsetting. It’s just something to be very mindful of.”
Loss
Ms Doyle said anyone that has a friend or family-member that loses a baby should ensure they talk to them and acknowledge what happened.
“It’s something that people find it very difficult to talk about,” she said. “I did personally experience the crossing the road thing – you know, you see somebody coming and suddenly they cross the road and pretend they didn’t see you.
“I did understand that it wasn’t that people didn’t care. I did feel that people did care, they just felt uncomfortable. They just didn’t know what to say.
“You have people who congratulate you when you are pregnant and suddenly the eyes are down, they don’t want to talk to you, they don’t want to know.
“I think they fear saying the wrong thing but the reality is, it’s just about acknowledging what has happened. It is just about saying I heard you gave birth or about what happened and tell me about them.
“Because I love talking about Liam and Grace and what we find in Féileacáin is that people love talking about their babies. They welcome the opportunity to talk and it might cause you a minute or two of feeling uncomfortable, you know, asking the question, but the reality is, we’re living with it 24/7.
“The opportunity to talk about our babies. It might make us emotional but it is a topic we love talking about.”
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