Thank you for your interest in helping with media interviews. Working positively with the media -newspapers, magazines, radio, TV - is one of the best ways in which we can raise awareness of the issues surrounding miscarriage, ectopic and molar pregnancy. It gives us the opportunity of correcting myths or misinformation. It is also very effective in letting people know about The Miscarriage Association, raising its profile both for those who would like our help and for those who may be able to help us. A higher profile can also help us raise funds.

All media interviewees need to be members of The Miscarriage Association. For information on joining The M.A., please click here.

Although these guidelines were originally written with Awareness Week in mind, when we positively invite the media to use real stories to illustrate the message, we also approach our interviewees at other times during the year. News stories or events - research news, a celebrity miscarriage/ectopic pregnancy etc. - or just someone looking to fill a gap - all these happen throughout the year.

Examples of this in the last few months are: a personal story of anxiety in pregnancy, following bleeding and/or a previous miscarriage; a celebrity miscarries at 6 months and the press want to interview someone with a late loss; another celebrity loses a baby early in pregnancy; a request to talk to a man who's been affected by miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy.

We will never give your name and/or number to a journalist without having asked you first. We will also not push you to do any interview which you're uncomfortable with - it is better either to try someone else or simply tell the journalist that we can’t come up with someone. It's not a disaster.

If you are considering joining our interviewee team, I hope the following points will help you get the most out of your interview/s:

• make sure that your nearest and dearest is/are comfortable with you talking to the media. Imagine his/her/their response (or that of their friends) if they read about themselves without advance warning: “What do you mean, your husband didn't understand???”
• media people are looking for human interest (i.e. personal stories) and something to grab their readers/listeners/viewers. They will be contacting you to get these personal angles on which to “hang” the press release information they already have or to illustrate a piece they're doing on something else.
• you need to decide in advance how much of your personal story you want to divulge, so that you don’t get drawn into saying more than you want.
• you need to think about whether this is a paper/magazine/programme which you're comfortable with. If it's one you generally don’t trust or dislike, then you might not want to be interviewed, or you might want to talk it through first with someone else. Don’t jump to conclusions about certain media. The Times and The Telegraph are just as likely as The Sun to get their facts and quotes wrong. Far more women read The Mail and The Mirror than The Guardian.
• think about the interview itself Would you rather speak face-to-face or over the phone? At their place or yours? Are you happy to have your photograph taken, or to be on camera?
• be prepared for being misquoted in a press article, or “edited” in a TV or radio interview (the main advantage to live interviews is that you get to say what you want!). Try to be as clear as possible. If you say something which you then want to withdraw, say so clearly: “I’m sorry, I would ask you not to print that part” etc. You can also ask (or set a pre-condition) to see the text before it goes to print, though you need to recognise that most journalists don’t have the final say - the editor does.
• you may get drawn into a line of questioning that you're uncomfortable with. You can simply say “I'd rather not answer discuss that” - even if you have to say it twice. If you want to play politician., try: “That's an interesting question” or “That's a difficult question” or “That's an interesting point” and then move quickly to something you want to say: “I actually think the real problem is that ... “or “I know that many people feel that ...“ or whatever.
• don’t feel you have to answer medical questions - in fact, it's generally better that you don’t. Refer them back to their fact sheet, if they have one, and if they don’t, offer to ask Head Office to fax them one. You can also tell them they can contact Ruth at Head Office or their nearest Gynaecology Department for further information.
• do avoid naming professionals who you feel gave poor treatment or care; we cannot afford libel cases! On the other hand, do give positive publicity to professionals, hospitals etc. who gave good care. And remember point (1) - don’t criticise your partner/relatives/colleagues unless you are willing to take the consequences...
• you are likely to be asked why The Miscarriage Association is important. Have a sentence or two prepared, e.g. “It's vital to give people/women couples in this situation support and information if they ‘re not getting it from those around them” - or something that rings true for you.
• if you're not asked about The MA, try and plug it if you can! Remind them that many people need to talk to someone and get information and that we can help. (And you might want to point out that without extra funding, we might not be able to continue providing a vital service.)

If you would like to talk through any of the above, contact Ruth or Anne at The Miscarriage Association