This article contains discussion of child loss that some readers might find upsetting.
Coronation Street's Sam Aston and his wife Briony have announced that they are expecting another child together.
The couple are already parents to three-year-old Sonny and 18-month-old Daisy, although they explained that the announcement of another sibling is a "bittersweet" one.
Speaking to OK!, Sam and Briony explained that she was actually pregnant with twins, but lost one of them due to Vanishing Twin Syndrome, which is when one of the embryos stops growing in utero and is absorbed by the mother's body.
Briony said: "If we hadn't had the early scan, I wouldn't even have known. But it does explain why I was so sick and tired this time around compared to my other pregnancies."
"At first, you’re thinking, 'What would it have been like to have twins? Would we have had one of each, a boy and a girl?'" Sam explained. "Like Briony says, it's definitely bittersweet, but we just feel very grateful that the other baby is absolutely fine. I think Briony breathed a big sigh of relief after her 12-week scan.
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"Just knowing that there was a strong heartbeat and the baby was moving while the scan was being done… That really reassured her."
Briony added that: "We started thinking, 'We could have had two… Will the living twin always wonder, 'What if?' and will they feel lonely?' We found ourselves questioning what could have been, while feeling grateful for what we’ve got."
The pair have found out that they've got a girl on the way, and they've not decided on a name yet.
Sam and Briony married in 2019. Earlier this year, they publicly announced that Briony had suffered a second miscarriage within a four-month timeframe, and hoped that sharing their story would encourage others to talk about the subject.
Organisations including Sands and Tommy's are able to offer help and support to anyone affected by baby loss.
