NATIONAL: ‘Life can be so cruel sometimes’: Influencer Dominique Nugent opens up about baby loss

Irish influencer Dominique Nugent has opened up about losing her baby. 

Dominique and her partner, Paddy, were expecting a baby for the first time. In January, their joy turned to 'unbearable sadness' when they lost their little one. 

"It’s hard to comprehend when the excitement and nerves of a pregnancy turn into the unbearable sadness and grief of a loss," said Dominique in a heartfelt message posted on social media.

"We were overjoyed to find out I was pregnant last year. I couldn’t believe we were going to be parents. We talked for months planning this summer and our lives around our baby’s arrival. We had a few scans and saw our baby moving around kicking and waving. We heard their heartbeat for the first time, it was magic. We were both so excited," she said.

During a follow-up scan, their doctor broke the news - they couldn't find the baby's heartbeat anymore. That's when "everything came crashing down" for the couple.

"Our hopes and dreams were dashed in that moment. I was admitted to the Coombe and my labour was induced. I went through days of pain and agonising contractions all while knowing I wouldn’t be taking our baby home at the end of it all. I delivered our baby on the 19th of January one day short of 16 weeks. We got to spend some precious moments just the three of us," Dominique continued.

"It was the saddest day of our lives having to say goodbye before we ever got to say hello. I thought of that car seat photo everyone takes leaving the hospital and thought of us leaving with our baby’s tiny coffin. Life can be so cruel sometimes. We wished for a baby but we got a little angel instead."