Mono Monday Double exposure

Faint echoes


Among those dates that I remember, there are some that are never acknowledged, celebrated or marked in any way.  Only I remember them.


They are due dates that never came to pass.  Possibilities that never were. For 2 years, all of my pregnancies ended with the same nurse offering me her arms and a shoulder for my tears.  


Miscarriages are common.  At least 1 in 5 recognised pregnancies will end abruptly, often without a known cause for it.  It is only when you have one, that you learn how many women close to you have miscarried before, unbeknownst to you.  


During these 2 years I met a woman who had 17 pregnancy losses.  Some of them miscarriages, some of them still births. How she managed the resilience to keep trying, it is beyond me.  But hers, was a message of hope. In the end she was rewarded with a healthy baby that she could embrace and love.  


But as sad as it can be to mourn the loss of a possibility (in the case of first trimester miscarriages), it cannot compare with being forced to go through a pregnancy that you do not want to have.  I was glad that Ireland voted to repeal the amendment that made abortion almost impossible, and I hope that this can happen in Northern Ireland too.  


A ban on abortion has terrible consequences for women.  I have never been unlucky enough to need one, but I am grateful that some of my friends were able to have one safely, legally and without shame.