The Joys and struggles of pregnancy after loss.
My first experience of pregnancy and my journey to motherhood was far from typical, but given it was my first experience, means I had nothing to compare it to until now. I had a taste of "normal" last pregnancy during the first 20 weeks. I had monthly midwife appointments, where I heard baby's heartbeat - which was surprisingly always normal. I experienced first trimester tiredness and puking and had no extra scans or appointments. This only added to the shock and disappointment of receiving a diagnosis at 21 weeks. Suddenly, we found ourselves thrown into a world that no parents-to-be, want to find themselves in. My pregnancy became high risk. We had frequent hospital appointments, received a diagnosis and had to fly back and forward to Wellington for specialist appointments. These appointments involved sitting in a waiting room alongside other high-risk mums, hour long scans, and doctors bracing themselves to deliver more bad news and recommendations. The first recomm...