her I can’t do anything. They got me into the hospital and
I passed out again. I think the doctor instantly knew what
was wrong the minute I said we were pregnant. The hospital
was amazing. I had a cat scan, an ultrasound and an
x-ray within 45 minutes.”
It turned out that she’d had an ectopic preg-
nancy. The foetus was growing in her fallopian tube,
and at 7 weeks the tube ruptured. By the time she got
to the hospital, Z’d lost almost 3 litres of blood which
was sitting in her abdomen.
“I was rushed into surgery. I met Doctors Robinson and
Woods and knew it would be okay, I was in good hands.
I lost my left fallopian tube and my left ovary because they
were so damaged. I’d been bleeding out for about 3-4 hours.
By the grace of God, I survived.”
Z says she had to take 6 weeks off from work to
recover. After this third miscarriage, she spoke with
her doctor to find out what might be going wrong.
Tests concluded there was no physical reason why Z
couldn’t carry a baby to full term.
“I said to my doctor I have no left ovary or fallopian tube
and she said the other side will kick in. We decided to give my
body a break, however I got pregnant unexpectedly in March
of 2018. Because of the previous ectopic pregnancy I was told
if I miss a period, get checked immediately. The chances of
another ectopic pregnancy are greater once you’ve had a previous one. As
you can imagine we were again really nervous. I remember my partner
saying statistically speaking, this time has to be okay!”
At 8 weeks Z went for an ultrasound.
“There was no heartbeat. They said maybe it was too early, but
I knew better. I thought ‘no, if there’s no heartbeat now I know there
isn’t going to be one next week.’ I went in the next week and there still
was no heartbeat. I said to my doctor I’ve had too many surgeries so I
opted for medication instead of a D&C. I had some minor cramping
and tissue passed. I went in for an ultrasound and remnants were
left so I took more medication. After that –well I’ve never seen so much
blood and tissue. I bled for 2 months. I ended up having a D&C
because I had what’s called ‘remnants of pregnancy’ and my body did
not get rid of all of it Though emotional, I’m not one to burst into
tears randomly, but this was particularly hard as it dragged out so
long. After the procedure I ended up being anaemic.”
After 4 miscarriages Z says she started feeling that some-
thing was wrong with her. At the same time she was encour-
aged because she was still able to get pregnant with one ovary
and one fallopian tube. She decided to take time off and her
doctor recommended some more detailed tests.
“My body needed time. I spoke with my doctor. She told me, the
only area of concern was that I have a low antimüllerian hormone –
this is an indicator of the amount and quality of eggs you have left.
She said there’s no reason why it can’t happen naturally, but at 41
with my hormone rates at the lowest rate for my age, I was doubtful.
There wasn’t a problem getting pregnant, or me carrying a child, but
it seemed that it was a problem conceiving a healthy blastocyst.”
Z and her partner began researching IVF. Just as they
were planning to go to Canada for treatment, they got
Every
woman
experi-
ences
the
grieving
process
in her
own
way
and at
her own
pace.
pregnant. Due in July, Z is now 24 weeks pregnant (at
the time of writing this article).
“So far, there are no issues. I’m still weary but in terms of
genetics and anatomy, all is well. We’ve had a strong heart-
beat since 5 weeks. Mentally, I’m worried. But I feel blessed
and fortunate to have my first daughter and to be pregnant
now. We are encouraged but need to get to the finish line!”
She shares her story so that other women will
understand they aren’t alone in this experience.
“So many women go through this and don’t realize how
common it is. It’s your body’s way of protecting you, of saying
something isn’t right but it doesn’t make it any easier to go
through. From the genetic testing we found out that our first
pregnancy ended in miscarriage due to chromosomal issues.
We don’t know why the other ones happened, and like most
people will never know.”
The emotional effects of miscarriage vary among
women. It’s common to experience sadness, anger,
guilt and anxiety. There’s no “typical” timeframe for
recovery. Every woman experiences the grieving pro-
cess in her own way and at her own pace. Fathers are
also affected by the loss. While it’s important to allow
time for grieving, if grief becomes overwhelming — it
might be necessary to seek professional help.
“
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mybermudaparent.com
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