Red Nose Day: Perth woman Rhiannon Kavanagh shares harrowing miscarriage story to help fundraise for families

From the moment she fell in love with her partner, Rhiannon Kavanagh desperately wanted to become a mum. But six pregnancy losses, including a still birth, left her in a dark place. And while Ms Kavanagh’s story is devastating, she is not alone. One in five pregnancies end in miscarriage and an average of six babies are stillborn every day in Australia. The Heathridge resident wanted to share her story in a bid to raise vital funds for bereaved families in the lead up to Red Nose Day on August 28. Money raised goes towards providing around-the-clock support for grief-stricken families, safety education programs for new parents, as well as research into infant deaths and early-life health risks. Ms Kavanagh experienced her first miscarriage shortly after she got married to her husband Christopher. “We were just so naive to pregnancy loss, you never think it’s going to happen to you,” she said. “As soon as you see that positive test you imagine your whole life — you’re planning already for that baby to come and then it’s just taken away.” She has lost six babies in almost six years since, but it was the loss of her daughter Linnea in 2024 that took the biggest toll on her mental health. Last year, Ms Kavanagh discovered she was pregnant with twins for the second time but tragically lost one of the babies shortly after the seven-week scan. The couple were still hopeful to welcome a healthy daughter but at her 13-week scan they found out Linnea had no abdominal wall and all her organs were growing outside her body. It made her survival impossible. Ms Kavanagh had to make the heartbreaking decision to undergo a termination for medical reasons and faced an agonising three-week wait before having to give birth. She required surgery as she experienced complications during birth, which further compounded her grief. “We were so hopeful for the surviving baby, and everything was going well, until it wasn’t,” she said. “I was induced at 17 weeks with her and had to give birth, which felt very different to the other losses. It was a dark place I was in.” Ms Kavanagh was offered free counselling immediately through Red Nose, which provides specialised bereavement support free of charge 24/7 to any person affected by the sudden and unexpected death of a baby or child. That can be during pregnancy, birth, infancy or childhood. “I knew this loss was different and I knew I just wanted all the help that I could get so I linked in with a counsellor immediately and she was amazing,” Ms Kavanagh said. “Most of the time I was just crying and she was just listening. “18 months later, I’m doing OK. I think about Linnea every single day but the days do get easier.” Despite the profound losses, Ms Kavanagh and her husband are still trying to make their dreams of becoming parents come true. She is now encouraging Australians to head to rednoseday.org.au and buy an iconic red nose or take part in a fundraising event to help raise $1 million to support other bereaved families.