Insufficient Awareness: Addressing the Overlooked Issue of Infant and Child Bereavement
The topic of infant and child bereavement often goes unnoticed and lacks the attention it deserves. It is undeniably challenging to delve into the heart-wrenching experiences of mothers who have suffered miscarriages or those who have lost their children shortly after birth. Among these shared stories is that of a mother who, for a fleeting moment, cradled her stillborn daughter before she, too, passed away.
Alyssa Young and her spouse were overjoyed with the birth of their first child, Scarlett. Due to her cerebral palsy and type 2 diabetes, Alyssa Young’s pregnancy was regarded to be at a high risk.
Up until September, everything was normal and Scarlett was flawless, but Alyssa was experiencing peculiar pain. Alyssa initially disregarded the pain, believing it to be normal pregnancy symptoms, but her condition deteriorated, leaving he
r with an upset stomach and pelvic discomfort.
Physicians reported that she and Scarlett were healthy, but Alyssa had a mother’s intuition that something was amiss. On the 3rd of October, Alyssa was rushed to the Labor & Delivery ward, where physicians explained the cause of Alyssa’s extreme agony.
“When we arrived at the hospital, the compassionate attendants ensured my comfort… After settling in, the on-call obstetrician stepped in to perform an exam. He informed us that I either had an incompetent cervix or that my body was attempting to abort our precious baby daughter.”
The physicians performed an ultrasound to ensure the fetus was healthy, but Alyssa’s cervix continued to expand despite the magnesium in her body.
She was afflicted with cervical incompetence, a condition that effects one in one hundred women. Scarlett’s 20-weeks-and-5-days gestational age made her too immature to endure the long labor.
Young’s spouse ensured that the entire family was present during the procedure to bid goodbye to their daughter Scarlett. Scarlett only existed for two hours, but during that ᴛι̇ɱe, her entire family cherished her.
Her grandmother captured two hours of Scarlett with her family that were particularly inᴛι̇ɱate. Scarlett was unable to endure for more than two hours, but her mother is encouraging others to speak out against cervical incompetence.
