Jessica Capshaw Reveals She Had a Miscarriage: 'The Most Shocking and Deeply, Deeply Sad Thing'

Jessica Capshaw is sharing intimate details about her journey to motherhood.

On Sunday, July 14, Capshaw, 47, and her Grey's Anatomy costar Camilla Luddington released a new episode of their Call It What It Is iHeartRadio podcast. 

During the conversation, Luddington, 40, took a question from a listener who had children of “very similar ages” to Luddington’s kids. The woman, identified as Jess, explained that she and her husband already have two young boys, but needed advice on deciding if a third child was a good decision. 

Luddington said she “easily” knew two kids were enough because her “anxiety” would not handle three. 

“You have four, though, so this is a different answer for you,” Luddington said to Capshaw. 

Capshaw shares Luke, 16, Eve, 13, Poppy, 12, and Josephine, 8, with her husband, entrepreneur Christopher Gavigan. 

“I think that the answer is that it's a very personal answer,” Capshaw said, adding that it helps to be “really really in touch and really really honest with yourself and with your partner.”

She added that it “sets you up for success,” when the parents are on the same page regarding family planning. 

“For me, I came from a big family, so I think that it was very natural and I didn't feel overwhelmed,” the daughter of Kate Capshaw and stepdaughter of Steven Spielberg said. 

“And Luke is three years older than Eve, and then Poppy is only 20 months younger than Eve. So we went like boom boom. It was Luke, and a break then Eve, and then I got pregnant when Eve was 10 months old,” Capshaw explained. 

Soon after, Capshaw asked Gavigan his thoughts on having a fourth child, with him saying it’d be a “fantastic” idea.

“I got pregnant and I was so excited and I had never had any issues before getting pregnant. I was very lucky and I'm very grateful. And then all of a sudden, at my 10-week appointment, [I] went in for the ultrasound, was by myself, totally unsuspecting, and there was no heartbeat,” Capshaw said of the “horrible” situation. 

Capshaw called her experience “the most shocking and deeply, deeply sad thing.”

After remembering that she didn’t know what to do at the time, Capshaw recalled having a “deep sadness,” trying to figure out if she would call Gavigan and tell him on the phone, or wait until she saw him in person. 

Capshaw said her doctor told her the next step would be to have a “D&C because that needs to be cleared out of your body.”

A D&C, also known as dilation and curettage, is a surgical procedure that removes tissue from the inside of the uterus.

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Capshaw was “very, very fortunate” to have such a “compassionate” doctor and partner throughout the process of “pain” and “disappointment," she said.

“And then you know, life carried on, and I had a chance to take care of myself and my body and my relationship and my other children, and it was really incredible,” Capshaw said.