FLORENCE Welch has candidly admitted she almost died after suffering a devastating ectopic pregnancy while on-stage.
Back in 2023, the songstress, 39, cancelled a handful of live shows as she told fans she would be undergoing life-saving emergency surgery.
The Dog Days Are Over hitmaker cancelled a handful of shows in 2023[/caption]
Florence has candidly told how she became pregnant aged 37 but lost her unborn child in the early stages[/caption]
At the time, she told how the band would not be performing a number of their scheduled European dates, yet did not give a detailed reason why.
The chart star gave a nod to her personal turmoil when she said the operation was for “reasons I don’t really feel strong enough to go into yet,” and now she has bravely opened up on the real reason why.
In a lengthy heartfelt chat, the Florence and The Machines singer told how she had been expecting her first child with her on-off musician boyfriend at the time.
She told The Guardian how conceiving at the age of 37 was a “big shock” but her maternity news felt “magical.”
Yet early in her pregnancy journey – while the pair had kept their baby news a secret – she said: “I had an ectopic pregnancy, on stage.”
Talking of her state of mind at the time she said: “I think, because it was my first time being pregnant, and it was my first miscarriage, I was like, OK, I’ve heard this is part of it.
“I spoke to my doctor, and they are not generally dangerous.
“Devastating, but not dangerous.”
ECTOPIC PREGNANCY
An ectopic pregnancy affects one in every 80 – 90 pregnancies, or 11,000 pregnancies each year, according to the NHS.
It happens when a fertilised egg implants outside the womb.
Fertilisation, when the sperm meets the egg, happens in a fallopian tube, and usually the egg should travel to the womb where it implants.
In an ectopic pregnancy, the fertilised egg attaches itself somewhere it cannot grow.
The pregnancy does not usually last longer than 12 weeks, as symptoms will occur before then.
Sadly the pregnancy always has to be terminated. The egg will be removed in an operation or using medicine.
What is miscarriage and why do pregnancies fail?
MISCARRIAGE is generally the death of an unborn baby in the first 24 weeks – approximately six months – of pregnancy.
Miscarriages may not be spoken about a lot but they are very common. Baby loss charity Tommy’s estimates there are at least 250,000 per year in the UK and that one in every five pregnancies ends in miscarriage.
It may not be clear why a miscarriage happens but they are rarely caused by anything done by the mother or father. Usually the embryo has a random genetic defect that means it cannot develop properly.
Most women can go on to successfully have healthy babies in the future.
The NHS says most miscarriages cannot be prevented but avoiding smoking, alcohol and drugs while pregnant can reduce the risk.
Some of the other most common reasons for a pregnancy to fail in the first 24 weeks are ectopic pregnancy and molar pregnancy.
Ectopic pregnancy is where a fertilised egg implants somewhere outside of the womb, usually in a fallopian tube. It cannot survive and grow there so either dies naturally or must be terminated.
Molar pregnancy is rarer but happens when a fertilised egg and/or placenta does not develop properly at the start of a pregnancy. There is no single reason why it happens and cannot be prevented, though it may be more common in very young or old mothers.
A baby who dies after 24 weeks is considered a stillbirth.
Source: NHS
FLORENCE’S PAIN
During the same interview, she bravely addressed how she felt the moment she lost her unborn child.
The Dog Days are Over hitmaker said: “I was in the elements, in the wind and rain, and I just felt something working through me.
“I felt this thing take over, the thing that’s always there, the safe space of performance.”
She then told how she visited a doctor when she started to bleed before a show and admitted she “started to panic” when her doctor paused.
She explained: “I had a Coke can’s worth of blood in my abdomen.”
Florence was then admitted for emergency surgery within the hour but her fallopian tube could not be saved.
Following her hospital admission she was due to perform another show yet she admitted: “If I’d got on that plane, I’d have come off on a stretcher. Or worse.”
TOUR STATEMENT
Back in 2023, she informed fans that the band would not be playing at Zurich Open Air Festival on 25 August or Rock En Seine on 26 August due to medical reasons.
The band’s last performance that year came as they headlined Boardmasters in Cornwall on August 13.
In 2022, Florence was forced to cancel UK tour dates after she suffered a foot injury yet, at the time, she clarified her foot was fine.
In her statement at the time she wrote: “I’m so sorry that I had to cancel the last couple of shows.
“My feet are fine, I had to have emergency surgery for reasons I don’t really feel strong enough to go into yet, but it saved my life.
“And I will be back to close out the Dance Fever tour in Lisbon and Malaga (maybe not jumping so much but you can do that for me).
“Suffice to say I wish the songs were less accurate in their predictions. But creativity is a way of coping, mythology is way of making sense.
“And the dark fairytale of Dave Fever, with all its strange prophecies, will provide me with much needed strength and catharsis right now.”
Fans two years ago flocked to wish her well with one writing: “So glad to hear you’re okay now, take care and we’ll dance for you. Stay safe, your health is more important than a live show.”
She told how she had a ‘Coke can’s worth of blood’ inside her abdomen prior to her emergency surgery[/caption]
Doctors could not save the Florence and the Machine singer’s fallopian tube in the process[/caption]
The Florida songstress has bravely opened up on her personal turmoil that she did not feel able to share at the time[/caption]
