Vanishing Twin Syndrome
What is a vanishing twin? When you conceive twins or multiples, sometimes one of the foetuses isn’t as strong, and you miscarry that foetus. The other/s are still healthy, so the pregnancy continues, but that foetus does not pass out of the body – it is reabsorbed into either the placenta, the mother, or the […]
What is morning sickness? And how do you avoid it?
Scientists have long debated what causes morning sickness, and with up to 80 per cent of pregnant women suffering some symptoms it’s worth knowing what you can do about it. For most pregnant women morning sickness is like a brief gaunt on The Good Ship Lollipop, queasy, unsettling, but transient in nature. As for myself, […]
Tears for her … tears for my three lost babies
Last Friday I had day surgery and woke in the recovery room to a young woman next to me sobbing into her pillow. The kind of sob normally reserved for funerals. That uncontrollable, heart-wrenching kind that signified absolute despair. In my post-anaesthetic haze I overheard one nurse telling another that this lady had no children […]
Light a candle on October 15 for little lives lost
Parents, grandparents, relatives and friends will create a wave of light across the world on October 15, when they light a candle for International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, in memory of the brief yet meaningful lives of babies lost due to miscarriage, stillbirth and infant death. Andre Carvalho, CEO of Sands Australia, a […]
I am still a mother … even after pregnancy or infant loss
Mother’s Day is always a mixed bag of emotions for me. On one hand I celebrate the two beautiful Rainbow Babies I have here with me, and on the flipside I mourn the babies who did not make it home with me in the past five years. The truth that most do not see, is […]
Explaining the burden of infertility
When a couple makes the huge decision to have a baby, they have so many hopes and dreams. They think with excitement on the cute outfits to dress their child in. How they may design the nursery with a jungle theme and how Dad will coach his child’s soccer team. They plan how many children […]