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Olympian Shawn Johnson opens up about miscarriage in raw and powerful video
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Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson and her husband, former NFL long snapper Andrew East, recently opened up about the couples struggle with miscarriage in an emotional video. - photo by Herb Scribner
Retired Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson and her husband, former NFL long snapper Andrew East, recently opened up about the couples struggle with a miscarriage in an emotional video that gained popularity over the weekend.

Johnson posted the video called pregnancy + heartbreak on her YouTube channel this Saturday. The video shows Johnson and Easts initial joy over finding out theyre expecting a baby to the sadness they felt when they learned Johnson suffered a miscarriage.

The video has been viewed 1.6 million times on YouTube.

You can watch the entire video which ESPN described as raw and incredibly powerful here.

The 20-minute video, which was featured on Good Morning America, starts with Johnson discovering her pregnancy, followed by her reaction to the news.

My instant reaction was to start bawling out of sheer terror, she said. Im gonna be a mom. I have a human growing inside of me. What?!

The video shows Easts jubilant reaction to the pregnancy announcement, too, as he opens a package of his favorite shoes (Converse), but for babies, according to The Huffington Post.

But Johnsons story takes a turn for the worse as she reveals she suffered really bad stomach pains and a lot of bleeding the day after she announced her pregnancy.

Its been an emotional roller coaster, she said. You go from shock to holy crap to I cant do this to lets do this. And now its like pray to God I can do this.

She and East attended a doctors appointment for blood work and an ultrasound. That's where they learned that Johnson had experienced a miscarriage.

About 10 to 20 percent of pregnancies end in a miscarriage, according to the Mayo Clinic.

But the clinic said the actual number is likely higher than that since many miscarriages occur so early in pregnancy that a woman doesn't realize she's pregnant.

Johnson, who has often shared uplifting messages about her Christian faith, did offer an inspiring note at the end of the video for herself and anyone experiencing the same emotions.

The past 48 hours have been some of the happiest, scariest, and saddest times of my life, she wrote. My husband Andrew and I found out that we were unexpectedly pregnant, only to find out hours later some tragic news. I have been crying more than I ever have, but am still optimistic for what is next.
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