QLD Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk shares experience of losing child

The Premier has opened up about the moment she lost a child during pregnancy and went to work immediately after.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has revealed detail about a miscarriage experience, as the state’s health department comes under heavy scrutiny over it’s treatment of a young woman.

Nikkole Southwell, 24, was reportedly forced to sit in the emergency room of Ipswich Hospital emergency room with a foetus inside a bio-hazard bag sitting on her lap, after she suffered a miscarriage at 12 weeks.

Ms Palaszczuk was questioned over the matter during an appearance on Today on Thursday morning.

“I personally have also had a miscarriage, so I do know exactly what it’s like,” she said.

“It is horrific and stays with you for the rest of your life.”

Annastacia Palaszczuk speaks about her miscarriage. Picture: Today

She explained that when she had her miscarriage “many years ago,” she still turned up for work that day in a state of shock.

“I had it in my house and I went to work, I was completely in shock,” she said.

“Then, I thought I‘d better see my specialist and he said ’I don’t think you should be at work, you should be at home’.”

“This was many, many years ago, before I was a politician but I know the trauma that women go through and it is heartbreaking, it is very hurtful and you're in shock and you don’t know what to do.”

The Labor leader said there isn’t a day that goes by that she doesn’t think about her miscarriage and said it isn’t spoken about enough.

“There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about it,” she said.

She said she understands how traumatic that experience would have been for Ms Southwell and said it was “not acceptable”.

“It is a traumatic time,” she said.

“So many times we focus on the woman having the baby not the person who has lost the baby.”

Health Minister Yvette D’ath is convening an urgent roundtable meeting with Ms Palaszczuk and other staff to address community concerns over the matter that will take place next week.

“I’m going to be personally involved with the [Health] minister to ensure these things definitely do not happen again in our public hospitals,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

One in five women across Australia experience a miscarriage during their life, according to federal health data.

Ms Palaszczuk has been open in the past about her struggles to have children of her own, including undergoing IVF procedures.

For anyone affected by miscarriage, stillbirth, baby or child death can call the Red Nose 24/7 Grief and Loss Support Line on 1300 308 307.