In the same way that Cherie Blair lent dignity to the idea of an older woman having an unexpected baby, with the birth of Leo in 2000, the publicising of her miscarriage may help the 250,000 or so women a year who go through it.
Around one in five pregnancies ends in miscarriage - maybe more - and yet women and their partners who go through it often say they feel profoundly isolated.
According to the Miscarriage Association, only 29% of a sample of 300 it surveyed felt they were well cared for emotionally. Nearly half did not feel well informed.
Many women who have had children have also suffered miscarriages between pregnancies, but successful pregnancies and a family at home do not necessarily lessen the sadness of losing the chance of another baby. Miscarriages are more common in women over 40. The miscarriage rate for women under 35 is 6.4% but over the age of 40 it rises to 23.1%.
For many, miscarriage comes as a sudden and shocking end to their hopes of having a baby, which is harder to deal with because there is usually no explanation. The absence of a reason leaves many women blaming themselves, support organisations say, and wondering if they took too much exercise or drank a glass of wine too many.
But all the evidence shows it is nothing to do with behaviour in pregnancy. The foetus miscarries because there is something wrong. It may not have implanted properly in the lining of the womb, or there may have been a genetic defect after the fusing of sperm and egg that prevented its proper development.
Most miscarriages occur before 12 weeks of pregnancy. Sometimes a woman can experience a little breakthrough bleeding without losing the foetus, but if she experiences severe cramps as the womb contracts, it is probable that she will miscarry completely. She may then be admitted to hospital for a D&C (dilatation and curettage) which is often carried out under general anaesthetic to ensure that nothing remains in the womb.
An older woman, even if she knows the chances are fairly high that the pregnancy will not go to term, is not necessarily better able to cope with a miscarriage, said Ruth Bender Atik, national director of the Miscarriage Association which gets 15,000 letters and calls a year from people seeking help and support.
"You respond to this miscarriage at this time in your life. Even if you think it is quite likely you will miscarry, it doesn't lessen the blow when you do," she said.
But every woman reacts differently, she said. "What is common for many women and their partners is a sense they have lost a baby. People may think that the pregnancy is not that far on and it is just a bunch of cells. But from the moment a woman knows she is pregnant she usually thinks of it as a baby and people say, 'When is your baby due?'
"So when she miscarries, she doesn't think, 'Oh well, that is just a bunch of cells'."
Her association offers support and information, but not advice, she said. "People want to be listened to. They want you to acknowledge what they are going through. It might be grief or it might be anger.
"Women often don't know why they have miscarried and, if nobody can give them an answer, they tend to think it is something they did or didn't do, so getting information can be very heartening."
