Britney Spears Praised For Breaking Stigma Of '12-Week Rule'

Trigger warning: contains references to baby loss.

Women are praising Britney Spears for breaking the stigma of the '12-week rule', the unwritten instruction for women to avoid sharing news of their pregnancy until they have reached the 12-week mark.

The rule stems from the fact that once pregnancies have reached the end of the first trimester, they are considered more likely to reach full term. According to the pregnancy charity Tommy's, most miscarriages happen within the first 12 weeks.

Although it is unclear how many weeks into her pregnancy the Sometimes singer was when she announced the news, it is understood she was in the early stages of pregnancy.

Britney announced she was pregnant last month shortly after she had just got back from a holiday with her partner Sam Asghari when she suspected she might be pregnant.

Women are now thanking Britney for being open about her pregnancy loss and are encouraging her and other women to not feel ashamed if they have a miscarriage after announcing their pregnancies before the 12-week mark.

One woman on Twitter shared: "The shaming around miscarriage after announcing the pregnancy before 12 weeks is a disgraceful part of the narrative around baby loss.

"Nobody should have to carry this on top of their grief. I hope @britneyspears can draw comfort from the love and support of well wishers."

Britney's followers also flooded the comments section under her heartbreaking Instagram announcement with similar messages of support.

“'I'm thankful you announced," one woman commented. "There is stigma with announcing too early, and then with miscarriage you have to be quiet.

"By doing this, you're allowing space for others to heal just as you. The more we speak about it, the more we all know we experience it together. I'm sorry for your loss.” 

Another Instagram user wrote: "Don’t even feel bad for announcing your pregnancy early' that baby was alive and a spirit and a human and deserved to be announced”.

Another follower wrote: "Can we normalize sharing pregnancy news in the first trimester? Who cares if hearing about loss makes some people uncomfortable.

"As women, we shouldn't be pressured to conceal our 'condition'. I wish I knew how common miscarriage was when I had my first. It would have been nice to know about other women's experience beforehand.

"There's no shame in it. If women feel better to share, then it should be encouraged. Not talking about conception or pregnancy struggles isn't healthy for young women or anyone for that matter.”

Britney and Sam revealed on Saturday that they had experienced pregnancy loss. Their joint statement reads: “It is with our deepest sadness we have to announce that we have lost our miracle baby early in the pregnancy.

“This is a devastating time for any parent.

“Perhaps we should have waited to announce until we were further along however we were overly excited to share the good news.

“Our love for each other is our strength. We will continue trying to expand our beautiful family. We are grateful for all of your support.

“We kindly ask for privacy during this difficult time.”

For help and support, please contact the charity Tommy's.