Doctors define a miscarriage as the loss of the baby before its 20th week of pregnancy. We all know about its symptoms like heavy bleeding, cramps and fever but we often do not think of what life after miscarriage could be like until such time that we are in the situation.
Roller-coaster of Emotions
Life after a miscarriage can feel a little like you are riding a roller-coaster of emotions
We will all experience the emotions of sadness, anger, fear, grief and guilt, among others, to varying degrees after the miscarriage because these are normal human emotions after losing something we so dearly wanted. However, each person’s experience with miscarriage will be different by virtue of their unique individuality. The intensity, degree, duration, frequency and trigger for each and every emotion will differ from one person to the next and from one time to the next in each of us.
But there is one common thing in the miscarriage experience – everybody undergoes a roller-coaster of emotions. You may be angry this minute and then become guilty the next followed by sadness and fear – or any other order of emotions, for that matter.
For most of us, life after a miscarriage is a difficult time and yet life must be lived one day at a time so that the road to recovery can be found and emotional healing after the intense heartbreak can be achieved.
It is important not to be pressured into emotional healing by others, least of all yourself. Although experts say that full recovery takes 12 to 18 months, your own recovery can be shorter or longer depending on how well you picked up your life, how well your support system functioned, and even how well your faith was sustained.
You must give yourself time – time to grieve, time to deal with the loss, and time to recover from your pain. Often, time can become our friend in that we learn to accept the reality of our losses and move on with our lives one day at a time. You have not forgotten about your baby, of course, but you have moved towards emotional healing.
The support of Beyond Pregnancy Loss, which provides for techniques on examining, accepting and dealing with your miscarriage, can provide the guidance you are looking for after your loss.
Until next time
Helen
