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The Pregnancy and Infant Loss (PAIL) Network

7/27/2017

The Pregnancy and Infant Loss (PAIL) network has announced that it's moving from its Facebook page to a Facebook group! This new change will allow PAIL to foster an interactive and inclusive online space where members will be able to engage more directly with PAIL Network and members of our community.

When PAIL surveyed its members back in 2016, members said that they wanted more opportunities to connect with other families online. Moving from a Facebook page to a group is a step in this direction, as it will allow members to more easily communicate with each other, and with PAIL.

This change means that, effective August 7, 2017, the current PAIL Network Facebook page will become inactive. If you would like to continue receiving updates from PAIL Network, and contributing to the PAIL Facebook community, please request to join the new Facebook group.

Please help us spread the word by sharing this information, and inviting friends and family who have been affected by pregnancy and infant loss to join the new group. See you there!

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Anne of Green Gables "House of Dreams" novel still Rings true today

7/18/2017

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After Aaron’s birth and death, I (Rachel, Aaron's mom) began re-reading the Anne of Green Gables series by beloved Canadian author L.M. Montgomery. I had completely forgotten that in Anne’s House of Dreams, Anne loses her first baby Joyce on the day that she is born. The scene is so poignant and heart wrenching to those of us who have experienced the loss of a pregnancy, infant or child. L.M. Montgomery knew all too well the pain of losing a child at birth. Her second born son, Hugh Alexander MacDonald was born still on August 13, 1914.

An excerpt from Anne’s House of Dreams:

"Time will help you," said Marilla, who was racked with sympathy, but could never learn to express it in other than age-old formulas.

"It doesn't seem fair," said Anne rebelliously. "Babies are born and live where they are not wanted - where they will be neglected - where they will have no chance. I would have loved my baby so - and cared for it so tenderly - and tried to give her every chance for good. And yet I wasn't allowed to keep her."

"It was God's will, Anne," said Marilla, helpless before the riddle of the universe - the why of undeserved pain. "And little Joy is better off."

"I can't believe that," cried Anne bitterly. Then, seeing that Marilla looked shocked, she added passionately, "Why should she be born at all - why should anyone be born at all - if she's better off dead? I don't believe it is better for a child to die at birth than to live its life out - and love and be loved - and enjoy and suffer - and do its work - and develop a character that would give it a personality in eternity. And how do you know it was God's will? Perhaps it was a thwarting of His purpose by the Power of Evil. We can't be expected to be resigned to that."

"Oh, Anne, don't talk so," said Marilla, genuinely alarmed lest Anne were drifting into deep and dangerous waters. "We can't understand - but we must have faith - we must believe that all is for the best. I know you find it hard to think so, just now. But try to be brave - for Gilbert's sake. He's so worried about you. You aren't getting strong as fast as you should."

"Oh, I know I've been very selfish," sighed Anne. "I love Gilbert more than ever - and I want to live for his sake. But it seems as if part of me was buried over there in that little harbour graveyard - and it hurts so much that I'm afraid of life."

"It won't hurt so much always, Anne."

"The thought that it may stop hurting sometimes hurts me worse than all else, Marilla."

Though it is 100 years since L.M. Montgomery penned these words in 1917, they still ring true in my heart. Marilla was right – it won’t always hurt so much. However, we live in a world where there is both joy and sorrow. I have learned so much about life in the past year.

Sometimes, grief comes crashing down like the waves of the ocean. However, in the last year I have learned that I will not drown. As much as the salty tears flow down my face, I wipe them away and I will continue to rise above the waves. It's hard, but life is still beautiful.

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The 12 Week Taboo

7/4/2017

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The 12 Week Taboo, or how we unconsciously tell people to keep quiet about their miscarriages...

Written by Margaret Sambol, one of the volunteers for Aaron's Butterfly Run Ottawa/Gatinea, who lost her son Matthew at 26 weeks and lost another pregnancy with a first-trimester miscarriage (read her previous blog posts here and here)

I don’t recall when I first heard the “rule” that you shouldn’t tell people you are pregnant until you are 12 weeks along. I don’t recall who told it to me, but I received it as a helpful piece of advice. The unspoken reason behind that taboo of secrecy is because the risk of miscarriage is highest in the first trimester. If you tell everyone you’re pregnant, you’ll have to tell everyone when you have a miscarriage. And it didn’t occur to me until years later the unintended isolation this rule causes.

I diligently followed this rule during my first pregnancy, which ended in a stillbirth at 26 weeks, and because I had told everyone I was pregnant, I had a several uncomfortable conversations with professional associates in the year that followed, asking me how the baby was doing and why I was back at work so soon. So, I thought, “Yeah, maybe that’s not a bad rule.” I worked in a very public job where I had a roster of hundreds of contacts and it would be hard to tell all those people about another loss.

I followed this rule during my next two healthy pregnancies, making up excuses for being so tired during that first trimester of silence, or why I didn’t feel like having a drink when heading out with friends. Luckily, I didn’t suffer from morning sickness but I certainly feel for the women who are trying to hide their pregnancies while sneaking away from their desks to vomit discreetly. I was happy to be pregnant so keeping it a secret was a battle of near constantly biting my tongue to keep my good news from spilling out.

My next pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. When I started bleeding, I went to see my family doctor and totally forgot to cancel my lunch date with my aunt. I felt bad for standing her up, but I also hating having to tell her the good news/bad news at the same time. “Hey, I was pregnant, but I’m not anymore.”

Because I hadn’t told anyone about my pregnancy yet, my husband and my doctor were the only ones to know about the miscarriage. I ended up telling a few people, my mom, my sister, but mostly I kept that loss to myself.

When I got pregnant again a few months later, I spent a fair bit of time thinking about that first trimester of silence. For whom was this rule created? Who does it benefit? It certainly doesn’t benefit the woman who feels alone in her loss. It doesn’t help people find resources, or talk about what is happening to their body. This silence about early pregnancy implies that we are supposed to keep our losses to ourselves, and hide our tears and grief, the same way we hid the exhaustion and the nausea. Are we so uncomfortable with grief that we think it is better to pretend it doesn’t exist at all?

So for my fifth pregnancy, I did tell people. We were visiting friends and family at Christmas time, and we made the announcement in person to much congratulations and hugs from the people who matter the most to me, although I chose not to put it on Facebook.

I did get the question, “how far along are you?” and heard that bit of surprise when I said just nine weeks. With other women, I have certainly seen that arched eyebrow, that whispered judgement that says, “Isn’t she telling everyone too soon?”

A week later, on New Year’s Eve I began to bleed and I just knew it was the start of another miscarriage. Once I confirmed it with my doctor in the following days, I did have to tell all those people about the miscarriage and it was hard. But it was also nice to not feel alone. It was comforting to receive sympathy and care, and a fair bit better than the isolation of the previous miscarriage. The people who love me want to know what is going on in my life, which means both celebrating the good news and comforting in the bad. I don’t have to worry about “burdening” my loved ones with the news of my miscarriages. There is no embarrassment in vulnerability, and a tremendous amount of support when you are willing to open up and admit you need it.

The other thing I found surprising about all this talk of loss, is how often my story is reciprocated by someone else’s story. How often I have felt that discussing our losses is a relief and a bond. So I tell my children about my miscarriages and the miscarriages of my friends. I tell them why I am making this casserole for this friend or why we are shopping for flowers for that friend. They are young, but they understand the idea that not all pregnancies end in a healthy baby, they understand that it is common and they understand that there is support. And as they say, forewarned is forearmed, and the best idea I have to make the sad journey of miscarriage less lonely.

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The Pregnancy and Infant Loss (PAIL) Network

Anne of Green Gables "House of Dreams" novel still Rings true today

The 12 Week Taboo

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