Current statistics show that 1 in 4 pregnancies currently
ends in a miscarriage. Far too often, doctors are unable to identify why women
miscarry. There are few solutions to this heartache for many women around the
world. This battle is personal, hard, painful and physically exhausting. I,
myself, have never been pregnant but have experienced this heartache second
hand as I have watched my oldest sister experienced two miscarriages within 8
weeks of each other. The first time it happened I was in Disneyland and I got a
phone call from my mom explaining that my sister was going through something
extremely difficult. She told me what had happened. I was devastated and
immediately called my sister. She was really quiet, didn’t say much, and I
could tell she was broken in some way that I couldn’t fix. She assured me it
would be okay, and that her husband was there for her. A few weeks later, we
got another call from my sister saying that she had once again gotten pregnant,
strangely, and had miscarried again. I wanted so badly to be able to fix her
pain, take it away, not let her suffer anymore.
I could not imagine what she
was going through. I wanted to learn how I could help so I decided to do some
of my own research.
I
found that there are a lot of women who experience this kind of pain. I am sure
every situation is different but it seems the pain feels the same. For example,
I just searched “Miscarriage” into the search bar on Twitter and here are some
of the results I found.
After reading these, I realized that
there isn’t any real solution to the loss of a miscarriage except for
connection. I created a video depicting the power of connection using my sister
and her family.
Using her friends and, most
importantly, her family, my sister has been on the road to both physical and
emotional recovery. It has been a long process and one that will continue in
the months to come, I believe that using love and connection, she will heal.
[Video created by Caitlin Thomas]
I personally think that experiencing
the loss of a miscarriage is a topic in the world of mental health that is not
discussed enough and I truly do not think there are enough resources provided
to women who experience this. Considering it is so common, I truly believe this
is something we need to make more open and comfortable to talk about. I think
as humans we reject speaking on topics that make as uncomfortable because they
are hard and we don’t want to say the wrong things. However, this is a topic
that I believe we can make more visible as we push to be more understanding and
educated on the topic.
Be there for people who have
experienced loss. Don’t try to fix their pain, but simply be there as a
support. Let them speak about their feelings and take the time to let them know
you care. Become educated and continue to help make these topics more visible
in our communities.
shine on,
glitter girl
Below are a list of resources
available to those who may have experienced the loss of a miscarriage:
Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
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