On May 17th, 2021, I found out I had a pregnancy loss.
On May 18th, 2021, I was induced and gave birth to our daughter.
To honor the anniversary of our daughter. My husband and I are going public. I started this blog a couple of months ago and have been too embarrassed to show our faces after what happened to us. But, throughout these last months, I have learned a lot.
Infant/ Pregnancy loss happens more often than we think.
About 10 to 15 out of 100 pregnancies (10 to 15 percent) end in miscarriage.
1 in 8 couples struggle with infertility.
Why was I feeling embarrassed speaking about our journey?
I noticed how the Latinx community has shamed us for not having children as soon as we got married. We also did not receive enough support during our loss, so I felt like I couldn’t speak about it.
We are constantly asked when we are having another baby but not how we are grieving our loss. This has been a very lonely and difficult journey. My pregnancy loss is an event I relive every day.
Being public about our loss and infertility has made me feel very vulnerable, but it’s time to show the world who we are. To really be raw and open about what we go through because I am now an advocate for Infant/ Pregnancy loss, IVF, and infertility.
My husband and I had a photoshoot 2 weeks before we found out our daughter no longer had a heartbeat. I was waiting for this appointment to pass to announce that we were pregnant with these explicit photos, and I never had the opportunity to.
Now I show these photos representing us as parents. We are grieving, we are vulnerable, but we are strong, and we made it through this unpredictable journey.
My focus now is to bring awareness to this community of parents and individuals who are grieving. We lost our children, and society has to learn how to support us.
Society has made me feel like I’m not enough, so I am taking a stance. I am choosing to be your advocate, and I will fight for us.
To anyone new joining my blog, please see below some of my favorite posts:
–Subchorionic Hematoma During Pregnancy
–Diagnosed with Antiphospholipid Syndrome
–7 Ways to Support your Friend during Grief
References
“Miscarriage.” Home, https://www.marchofdimes.org/complications/miscarriage.aspx.
You are so strong for sharing your story with the world. I’m so sorry for your loss but so thankful for you sharing your experience with us. I pray that you continue to heal and raise awareness in your community.
Thank you so much Makayla for reading my post. I really appreciate your kind words.