There is always more to the story
There is always more to the story.
I have in the past, suffer from a rare and potentially fatal pregnancy condition called Hyperemesis Gravidarum. HG, as we abbreviate it, has no known cause, no known cure, and no consistently successful treatment. It is marked by violent vomiting, severe dehydration, malnutrition, organ failure, and - in too high of a percentage - death.
According to the larger HG organizations, HG is fatal 25% to 33% of the time. According to the international support group that I help to direct, 16% of HG pregnancies are terminated.
16% of HG pregnancies are not terminated because the mother does not what the child.
16% of HG pregnancies are not terminated because the pregnancy is an inconvenience.
16% of HG pregnancies are not terminated because the mother cannot afford to raise the child.
16% of HG pregnancies are terminated because medical professionals fail to adequately treat the mother’s suffering, to the point that women are dying.
Women are dying because medical professionals are not doing their jobs.
I am lucky. My doctor trusted me. She prescribed medication she didn’t want to normally but realized that the mediciation would save my life.
I am lucky, and a lot of women are not.
I am lucky, because I am alive.
I know women who were admitted to mental wards because their medical professionals thought the condition meant they didn’t want their baby. I know women who had Child Protective Services called on them because the doctor was convinced that the vomiting was an eating disorder and they were neglecting or abusing their unborn child. I know women who have [temporarily] lost their children because of the treatment they sought for HG.
I know women whose organs have shut down. Women who were told, “You are going to die if you do not terminate this pregnancy.” Women who survived the pregnancy, then died weeks later because their violent vomiting cause esophageal tears that became infected. Women who died in the middle of the pregnancy because their malnutrition reached levels so severe that their heart gave out. Women who have died because their wanted pregnancy, their wanted baby, has died because doctors did not treat them appropriately.
I know women who are alive today because they terminated a wanted pregnancy.
And I know people today who, in celebration of yesterday’s Roe vs Wade reversal, know women who could one day be in those shoes.
There is always more to the story.
And some of the leading characters may be people you love.
I have in the past, suffer from a rare and potentially fatal pregnancy condition called Hyperemesis Gravidarum. HG, as we abbreviate it, has no known cause, no known cure, and no consistently successful treatment. It is marked by violent vomiting, severe dehydration, malnutrition, organ failure, and - in too high of a percentage - death.
According to the larger HG organizations, HG is fatal 25% to 33% of the time. According to the international support group that I help to direct, 16% of HG pregnancies are terminated.
16% of HG pregnancies are not terminated because the mother does not what the child.
16% of HG pregnancies are not terminated because the pregnancy is an inconvenience.
16% of HG pregnancies are not terminated because the mother cannot afford to raise the child.
16% of HG pregnancies are terminated because medical professionals fail to adequately treat the mother’s suffering, to the point that women are dying.
Women are dying because medical professionals are not doing their jobs.
I am lucky. My doctor trusted me. She prescribed medication she didn’t want to normally but realized that the mediciation would save my life.
I am lucky, and a lot of women are not.
I am lucky, because I am alive.
I know women who were admitted to mental wards because their medical professionals thought the condition meant they didn’t want their baby. I know women who had Child Protective Services called on them because the doctor was convinced that the vomiting was an eating disorder and they were neglecting or abusing their unborn child. I know women who have [temporarily] lost their children because of the treatment they sought for HG.
I know women whose organs have shut down. Women who were told, “You are going to die if you do not terminate this pregnancy.” Women who survived the pregnancy, then died weeks later because their violent vomiting cause esophageal tears that became infected. Women who died in the middle of the pregnancy because their malnutrition reached levels so severe that their heart gave out. Women who have died because their wanted pregnancy, their wanted baby, has died because doctors did not treat them appropriately.
I know women who are alive today because they terminated a wanted pregnancy.
And I know people today who, in celebration of yesterday’s Roe vs Wade reversal, know women who could one day be in those shoes.
There is always more to the story.
And some of the leading characters may be people you love.
