Warning: This article discusses stillbirth and baby loss
star Maya Vander has addressed what caused her recent stillbirth during the reunion of the show, which came to Netflix on Friday.
Maya has been on the show since it began and is a favourite of fans, who love watching all the goings-on of real-estate brokerage, The Oppenheim Group.
However, the realtor was faced with the heartbreaking prospect of having to tell viewers about her baby loss, after her baby Mason was stillborn at 38 weeks in December.
In the show’s reunion, which came after the end of season five, she opened up about what happened and confirmed he suffered a freak accident in her womb.
Maya said the autopsy revealed ‘a bad accident with the [umbilical] cord, mixed with some swallowed placenta.’
She shared: ‘Everybody was so kind there and I know life happens. We’re filming reality. We don’t know how things will happen. I was 38 weeks, and apparently, it was a freak accident.’
‘I’m doing much better and I have my husband, he’s amazing. My kids are great. They keep me going. I work and I’m busy so… I don’t have time to sit and cry all day long.
Maya recognised she still had ‘her moments’ of struggling with her loss, but continued: ‘That’s part of grief. Just taking this opportunity to, I guess, raise the voice for stillbirth and pregnancy loss
‘I feel I’m inspiring women and I think it helps a little bit for other women to know that they’re not alone.’
Maya has two children with her husband David Miller, Aiden, born in 2019 and Elle Madison, born in 2020.
It comes as the star revealed to us the latest season of the show back, in which she was pregnant, after losing her baby boy.
She continued to work up until 22 weeks, before taking some time before her due date to relax, with many scenes filmed while she was expecting.
She told : ‘Then I had to watch the show. And I’m very much pregnant there and I don’t have the baby. It wasn’t as easy to watch.
‘I wasn’t sitting there sobbing with tears, I just kind of sat and watched the whole season as a whole, not focussing on just me being pregnant. Was it easy? No, but I watched it and managed to survive.”
She confirmed the devastating news at the end of last year with a post on Instagram.
Alongside a picture of an empty baby basket, she wrote: ‘Yesterday was the hardest day of my life. I had a stillbirth at 38 weeks. I always heard of it but never imagined I’ll be part of the statistics. Instead of delivering a baby, I get to go home with a memory box… I do not wish this on anyone.’
She added: ‘Given I share my pregnancies in the show I knew I’ll have to post about this and avoid the ‘when is your due date’ question. You will always be in our heart baby Mason.’
Selling Sunset can be streamed on Netflix now.
Sands UK charity
Sands UK is a stillbirth and neonatal death charity, which works to reduce the number of babies dying and to ensure that those affected by the loss of a baby receives the best possible care for as long as they need it.
The charity aims to better understand the causes of baby deaths and works with governments and other organisations to raise awareness of issues surrounding baby loss.
Sands provides bereavement support at a local and national level.
Please for more information and contact details.
