Green MP Julie Anne Genter has publicly revealed she has suffered a series of miscarriages - and says the heart-breaking subject should be discussed openly.
She has spoken of her loss and her attempt to start a family to Women's Weekly.
"I never expected we'd have any problem getting pregnant in fact, I didn't. But I lost the pregnancy very early on. And then the next one at eight weeks. We tried for another year after that, but nothing happened.
"I'm quite a rational person and thought I could tell myself it simply wasn't meant to be, but I was surprised at how intensely powerful my emotions were around the pregnancies and miscarriages. It affected me profoundly. It was upsetting and very sad for both of us."
Ms Genter says she is considering adoption, but for now she's got her mind set on the upcoming election.
She wants people to be able to discuss miscarriages more openly.
"Maybe we don't mention it because we don't want other people to feel the sadness, but how else will women know how common it is and how will other people know what you're going through?"
Ms Genter grew up in Los Angeles and became a Green MP in 2011. She's the party's spokesperson for health, transport, Auckland issues and youth.
Ms Genter also spoke about her loss in the the Mt Albert by-election to Labour's Jacinda Ardern.
Ms Genter said there were no hard feelings after Ms Ardern's landslide win in the electorate - in fact they're friends and she attended her victory party.
"She was really sweet and wanted to know how I felt. Our friendship is still very much intact if anything, this has strengthened it."
"She was a great candidate, ran a good campaign and it was a well-deserved win," Ms Genter said.
"This wasn't a fight or a battle that's what turns people off politics. We wanted this to be a friendly, constructive process and we achieved that. It was a good result for the Greens and we got a lot of exposure for our ideas."
Newshub.
