EDMONTON -- Miscarriage affects one in four pregnancies, and a new study shows that those women can also experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression.

Kyra Markov is enjoying every moment of maternity leave with her 3-month-old Verity.

“She is a very, very sweet baby, very calm. I’ve been blessed with a baby that likes to eat and sleep,” said Markov an assignment editor with CTV News Edmonton.

But getting to this moment hasn’t been easy for Markov. Eight weeks into her first pregnancy something didn’t feel right, and she miscarried in the hospital waiting room.

“It’s just hard to go from the most excited you’ve ever been to kind of the most heart broken you’ve ever been. It’s a very high, high… followed by a really low, low,” said Markov through tears.

Miscarriage affects one in four pregnancies, most before 12 weeks, and a new study shows that those women can also experience long-term mental disorders.

The research, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, shows miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies can trigger long-term post-traumatic stress, anxiety and depression.

Dr. Jessica Farren co-authored the largest research of its kind, studying 650 women and the impact of early pregnancy loss.

“The expectation is that you just get on and deal with it. And sometimes the statistics about how common miscarriage is get in the way of that because you’re supposed to deal with it as part of life’s natural cause,” said Farren.

Farren found that one month after a miscarriage, nearly one-third of women suffered post-traumatic stress, one in four experienced anxiety, and one in 10 said they were depressed. Nine months later, the rates were lower, but still present.

“I’m sort of hoping that it will validate the way women are feeling and enable them to access the care they so clearly need,” said Farren.

“We had the suspicion that it might also lead to post-traumatic stress, but this confirms that suspicion,” said Dr. Sarah Halleran.

Halleran is the medical lead for the Early Pregnancy Loss Clinic at the Lois Hole Hospital. She works with a team of nurses, counsellors and psychologists who provide pre-natal screening and long-term resources for women.

“I would see patients in a subsequent pregnancy who found that pregnancy so traumatic, even though the pregnancy was healthy, in reflecting or perhaps flashing back or reminding at teach step of the way of the pregnancy that was lost,” said Halleran.

Halleran says societal changes need to happen to support women that have gone through miscarriages.

“There is still that collective sense that, ‘OK, you’ve had the baby, you’re blue, now get over it,’” said Halleran.

“As soon as they think of a baby by gender or a name, they’ve given them a personhood and they’re part of their family,” says bereavement counsellor Patti Walker.

Walker works with families encouraging them not to suffer in silence, to acknowledge the life that could have been.

“I’m not going to tell them it’s going to be okay, I’m going to say ‘Let’s talk about how you’re feeling right now,’ and walk them through that journey,” said Walker.

“The most important thing I do is listen. I don’t try to fix this because this can’t be fixed, but I do support it.”

Walker says there are many ways to support a family that has experienced a miscarriage. The biggest thing is to let them teach you what they need, and be open and empathetic.

Some of the practical things Walker says you can do are things like bringing food, taking their other kids to the park, or shovelling their walkway so they can take the time to grieve and slowly get back to their daily routine.

“If the baby has a name, always call that baby by name,” said Walker.

Walker also says it’s very important not to say things like, “it’s better that it happened earlier rather than later.”

Markov still keeps a box of mementos from her first pregnancy. It holds a pair of baby booties, her journal, and the pregnancy tests she took.

On the advice of her psychologist, she also wrote her baby a goodbye letter.

“There’s different things that help people heal,” said Markov.

The delicate tattoo of “baby” on her left arm, is one of those things.

“I always wanted something I wouldn’t regret, and I knew… I couldn’t regret getting this.”

If you’ve suffered a miscarriage there are resources available. Call health link by dialing 8-1-1 to be directed to an early pregnancy loss clinic.

The clinic at the Lois Hole Hospital can be reached seven days a week at 780-735-6653.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Erin Isfeld