"I THOUGHT because I've had two kids, it will just happen instantly."
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It is estimated that one in four pregnancies will result with a miscarriage, but it's a situation most don't talk about.
After having two beautiful little girls, the last thing Perthville resident Chezzi Denyer expected was to have difficulties when she and her husband Grant decided to have a third baby.
After falling pregnant, Mrs Denyer assumed this was the start of the last leg in their journey to being a family of five.
However, this was not the case.
"When I had the first miscarriage I was genuinely shocked," she said.
"I don't know whether I was naive or I thought because I've had two kids it will just happen instantly.
"So it was a real shock and there was no real answer as to why it had happened."
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For Mrs Denyer, and most women who experience a miscarriage, it wasn't just losing the baby that hurt.
It was the thought of potentially having to say goodbye to the future they've envisioned, a future that included another child.
So not only was Mrs Denyer grieving the loss of her unborn baby, but she was mourning the future she had dreamed of.
After experiencing two more miscarriages, the prospect of a family of five was fading away.
"I think I jumped the gun very early on, so as soon as I knew I was pregnant - because I was actively trying - I was picturing my life with a third child," she said.
"I was picturing what car we'd have and I'd romanticised this whole life with a third child, and then all of a sudden you have this experience where you've lost that and I found that really difficult to deal with.
"Then I had a second miscarriage and then a third very close after, and I felt really lost and I felt really broken.
"I just could not understand how it was happening, or why it was happening. I could fall pregnant, but I just couldn't seem to remain pregnant."
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While Mrs Denyer felt blessed to have two beautiful children, she couldn't shake the feeling of being really ripped off.
And even though she was lucky enough to have the support of her husband, family and friends, she still felt disconnected, scared and incredibly sad.
"I do remember a few people saying to me, 'Maybe it's not meant to be', which just absolutely broke my heart because that's not what you want to hear," she said.
Mrs Denyer became pregnant for a fourth time since trying for baby number three, and while she was overjoyed, the happiness of being pregnant was shadowed by the thought of another miscarriage.
But when she started to feel very unwell, she knew this pregnancy was different.
Having had hyperemesis - a severe case of morning sickness - with her first two daughters, Sailor and Scout, experiencing the symptoms again was a sign to her that everything was going to be okay.
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Even though hyperemesis meant frequent trips to the hospital for drips and infusions, the ordeal was worth it to finally complete her family.
"It's bizarre because you don't want to feel sick, no one ever wants to feel that unwell, but it made me feel very safe and secure that this pregnancy was good," she said.
It wasn't long before little Sunday was born, the perfect addition to complete the Denyers' family.
While the COVID-19 pandemic made the journey a lot harder for Mrs Denyer, especially not being able to have anyone by her side during appointments when she had just had a miscarriage, a positive of the pandemic was her husband being home a lot more.
"He has been really hands-on with Sunday," she said.
"With the other two, most of their younger baby years he was away working, so it was very special to have him here."
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