So… yesterday was my due date

So… yesterday was my due date.

Yes, that is right. My due date. But I am not pregnant…

In February this year, I had a miscarriage. Equally the most devastating and distressing day of my life… Equal to when I found out 5 days earlier at my 10-week ultrasound, that there was no heartbeat.

Those who are closest to me know about it. And I have told people who have asked innocent questions of me:

“Your son is now 3, isn’t it time to have another baby?”

“When are you going to have another baby?”

“Are you guys going to have another one?”

My answer: “I would love to have another one, but I am repairing myself physically and mentally from a miscarriage earlier this year”.

When you are trying for a baby and you do the test and see those two blue lines… in that moment you become a mother. Your mind changes. Your thoughts change. You are no longer just you, walking around in your body, but you are now growing another person. Your energy shifts from in your head, to in your womb and your heart. And despite the debilitating nausea and general feelings of rottenness which come with a first trimester of pregnancy, you are also excited about creating a new life, adding to your little family.

 

And then it all changes…

 

And I went along to the 10-week ultrasound, a little bit nervous, but excited about seeing this little person for the first time.

After all, I had done this before. I had successfully grown another person; an awesome little person; a perfect little person. And I was looking forward to seeing his brother or sister on the ultrasound monitor.

I see the outline of a baby.

Oh how I wish I had not seen that ultrasound image.

Because there, floating in my womb, was a little baby. A little baby with no heat beat. The ultrasound technician put her hand on my leg and I didn’t need her to say it, but she did.

“I’m sorry”

It is a strange concept to feel sad for something that was never born. But I do.

One in 5 pregnancies end in miscarriage, yet we don’t talk about it freely. People often lament this fact. I tell you why we don’t – because it is too painful! I am trying to change this with my story. But, still, it has taken me 7 months to be able to write this down. And even now – do you know how scared I am to press PUBLISH on my blog? !! That total strangers will read my story… but I feel compelled to do it. It is part of my personality. It is in my nature to share my many thoughts and feelings with those who will listen.

 

So, I have picked myself up, and dusted myself off. And true to my profession, I have asked myself “why did this happen to me?” That is the eternal question of a naturopath regarding her patients. “Why are you unwell?”

I have investigated, and read, and researched, and gone to seminars. I have discovered that I have a variation in the MTHFR gene (a gene which controls the use of folate in the body. And we all know how essential folate is for a growing foetus). You can read more about it in my post on MTHFR.

And so I have become my own patient. I have changed my diet, and lifestyle, as well as my husband’s. I am repairing myself and am now preparing myself to try again. I also planted some daffodils which would spring up around the time of my due date.2016-08-10-13-34-07

And I hope that all this hard work will be successful. Only time will tell that. I am very lucky in that I have already had a successful pregnancy and a beautiful little boy to call my son.

I would like to say to all women who have had a miscarriage as their first pregnancy…

“I feel you”

I would like to say to all women who have had any miscarriage…

“I feel you”

and I would like to say to all women who have had multiple miscarriages…

“I feel you”

I feel you in your pain, your longing, and your strength. And I admire your ability to pick yourself up and keep trying.

 

I have joined a club that I didn’t ever want to become a member of. I wish there was no club to begin with. But now that I have joined, and I cant unjoin, I am grateful that this club has made me a better naturopath, a better mother, and a better person.

And hopefully there will be some happy news to share in the future.

 

12 thoughts on “So… yesterday was my due date

  1. I feel you. A miscarriage was my first pregnancy but I feel blessed it was only at 5 weeks. I literally miscarried a week after it being confirmed I was pregnant. At the time I wished I hadn’t known I was pregnant because I like have thought i had a late period that was overly heavy that month. But for me I felt like my body was doing a test run for the twins I would conceive just two months later. I’ll never know if I had twins because I have the gene that causes hypo ovulation or because of the miscarriage that may have caused my body to produce two eggs in the same month. The miscarriage create fear around pregnancy I had never expected to feel as I just thought it would happen with no dramas. For many women, it’s not always so straightforward.
    I salute your courage to share your story. I shared mine on my public business page recently, because I think it’s important for women to know how common miscarriage is. By sharing our experiences we create that awareness and get conversations among women flowing.

    • Thanks Melissa – your story is equally as heart breaking. I thank you for sharing it. Feel free to post a link to it here if you would like to. You have given me hope that good things will be in store. Who knows what will happen – twins also are in my family 😉

  2. I feel you. This resonated so much with me. I had a miscarriage in June and even though it was an early chemical miscarriage it doesn’t change the feeling of loss, I was lucky to fall pregnant the following month and now I’m into my second tri.. Have faith in your body and wishing you all the best. Xx

    • Absolutely it doesn’t change the feeling of loss. Thanks so much for sharing your story with us Gaya. It has given me hope that you are now safely in your second trimester. I wish you well for the remainder of your pregnancy. 🙂

  3. I’m sorry you went through this but I’m happy (and proud of you) that you decided to share your story. I hate that so many experiences for us females-infertility, miscarriages, loss aren’t talked about making us feel all alone. I’m going to be tested for the MTHFR gene as I have endometriosis and they’re very commonly related.

    • Thanks for your kind words Dana. I think that is why I still share this post around – a year later. It helps me to talk about it so it may also help others. If you are tested for MTHFR, then Ben Lynch is the world expert on it so I am sure he will have a list of practitioners you could choose from if you wanted to.

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