According to www.plannedparenthood.com, a miscarriage is described as follows: “Miscarriage is when an embryo or foetus dies before the 20th week of pregnancy. Miscarriage usually happens early in your pregnancy. Eight out of 10 miscarriages happen in the first three months of pregnancy. Lots of people experience this kind of pregnancy loss, and the medical term for miscarriage is spontaneous abortion.”
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According to Medical News Today, women that are under 35 years old have a 15 per cent chance of pregnancy loss. Between the ages of 35 and 45, an average of 20 and 35 per cent of pregnancies may end in a loss. In women over 45, about 50 per cent may end in a pregnancy loss.
Steelburger/Lydenburg News spoke to a few women who had to go through the painful process of healing after they suffered a miscarriage.
• Caron Kriel: “I was 22 years old and pregnant with our second child. On 26 weeks we found out that our baby was no longer alive inside me and I had to give birth to a stillborn baby. After that I had three miscarriages. The loss of the babies were very traumatic, but the thoughts of not being good enough to carry them full term was the worst. In those days there wasn’t any counselling available. I do not wish it on any women.”
• Melissa Mostert: “I had a son with my long term boyfriend. In 2013 we decided to try for another baby and then got married. My husband had a drinking problem that got worse. He started to beat on me despite the fact that I am pregnant. One day I felt ill and couldn’t sit or walk properly. I visited my mother where a doctor confirmed that I had lost her baby. It’s the worst thing that I as a woman had to ever go through.”
• Yolande Schmahl: “I was 21 years old when I suffered a miscarriage. I was pregnant with twins at two and a half months. It was the saddest day of my life. I experienced horrific pain and was rushed to the doctor. There I was informed that one of the twins was growing in my fallopian tube and it burst. The baby drowned inside me. They immediately performed a caesarean and both babies had to be removed. I can never have children again, although it is something I long for so dearly.”
What all these women have in common is the word “I will never wish this on anyone.” Unfortunately miscarriages occur in one of four pregnancies, and no one will understand the emotional scarring left for years to come.
