Broadway star Laura Benanti opens up about experiencing miscarriage while performing
Laura Benanti isn't shying away from talking about pregnancy loss and miscarriage.
The Tony-winning actor revealed in an Instagram post Wednesday that she had experienced a miscarriage Monday while she was working, performing on The Broadway Cruise, a themed cruise that was sailing from New York to Bermuda and back.
"On Monday April 3rd, I performed on stage for 2000 people while having a miscarriage," Benanti wrote in the caption of her post.
"I knew it was happening. It started slowly the night before. If it had been our first loss, or even our second, I likely wouldn't have been able to go on," she continued. "But unfortunately, I am not a stranger to the pain and emptiness of losing a pregnancy. It is a path I have walked before, hand in hand with my husband."
Benanti is married to Patrick Brown and they are also parents to a daughter named Ella, who was with them aboard the cruise this week. The couple welcomed a second daughter, Louisa, in July 2022 via surrogate.
After her miscarriage on Monday, Benanti thanked the cruise passengers, the staff and her family, whom she said all helped her during a difficult time.
"[T]his time we walked it alongside some of the kindest, most loving humans I will ever have the honor to share space with," Benanti continued in her Instagram post caption. "Thank you to everyone in that audience for the grace your presence allowed. For lifting me out of my grief for that Holy hour. Thank you to my band for holding me, unconditionally, in your hearts, and to the crew for working so hard to make me as comfortable as possible. Thank you to my friends and fellow performers for rallying around me and so graciously accommodating my changing needs. Thank you to the extraordinary producers and their teams who could give a masterclass on how to handle a personal emergency with empathy and compassion."
Benanti also said Brown's parents stepped in to care for Ella too.
"Thank you to my remarkable Mother-in-law and Father-in-law for shielding Ella from the reality of this experience and giving her the time of her life while 'Mama's back hurt'," she added.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a miscarriage is defined as "the loss of a baby before the 20th week of pregnancy." ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton, a board-certified OB-GYN, said miscarriages are common and can occur in as many as 10% to 15% of pregnancies but the true number of pregnancies that end in miscarriages is difficult to pinpoint because some people may not know they're pregnant when they experience a pregnancy loss.
Benanti concluded her post with a touching message and said she wanted to go public with her personal news in order to help break down the social stigma around miscarriage.
"Thank you to that little soul for choosing me as your home, even for a short time. Patrick and I are so grateful for the family that we have, and the miracle of our two little girls. One carried by me and one carried by an angel-on-earth," Benanti wrote.
"My husband and I are heartbroken but we will move through this together as we, and so many others, have done before. I share all of this, not to garner sympathy or attention, but to remind the many people and families who have and will suffer in this way that there is no shame in this kind of loss. That you are not alone. And to remind myself as well."
