One in six pregnancies ends in miscarriage – but hardly anybody speaks openly about the taboo topic – leaving many women feeling alone and at fault. ELTERN – a German print and online magazine regarding ALL parent related topics – wanted to change this and show women across Germany that they are not alone and that a miscarriage is not their fault. So, on May 8th 2022 we aired the first Mother’s Day commercial with a trigger warning. The film made the impression to be just another ‘stereotypical Mother’s Day film’ told from the perspective of a child. The unexpected twist: due to a miscarriage, this child was never born. Showing the brutal reality for every sixth ‘Mother’.
The film encouraged viewers to break the silence and linked to our ELTERN platform where they found exchange, support, and education. And it worked! The video went viral – even beyond German borders spreading our message across the world, earning a media equivalency value of €1,900,000 and reaching a total of 59.4 million people. Among them, brave women who used the comments to break the taboo by sharing their stories. Letting those affected everywhere know that they are not alone, and a miscarriage is not their fault.
