by Sarah Obican, MD, MotherToBaby President
Though I wish I didn’t remember the day well, I do. I was a maternal fetal medicine fellow in NYC and I was sitting with my two beautiful co-fellows. When I say my co-fellows were beautiful, I mean that inside and out. We were an odd pairing of three musketeers. Young, bright, professional women, training to take care of women with high-risk pregnancies… and all three of us were pregnant. It was completely unplanned and highly unusual for all three of us to conceive, all within a few short weeks of each other. But there we were one day, sitting at our desks, talking about our individual research projects and occasionally interjecting in each other’s conversations with excitement about our future babies. I loved my two colleagues so much, and I was so excited to imagine that we would follow each other’s careers and see our children grow up, all similar in age.
In the middle of this conversation, something made me just get up and say to them “I’ll be right back!” I still don’t know what made me do it. I had a feeling hard to describe, but it made me walk over to our ultrasound unit and ask my sonographer colleague to please do an ultrasound.
I was on the examining table within minutes. But her silence after she put the probe down on my ultrasound gooped-up belly felt like an eternity. Another sonographer came into the room. I knew. That’s when the world went dark.
Now, I am physician and I cannot explain this. For a few moments, quite literally, the bright NYC day, the room, the people in the room, went completely dark. I couldn’t see. I didn’t lose consciousness, but I couldn’t see. In my career, I sadly had to care for countless women who went through a miscarriage and in that darkness, I wondered if they had experienced the same. A few moments later I was back in the ultrasound room, now with an overcoming wave of sadness which made me wish I was in the numbing darkness again.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists estimates that 26% of all pregnancies end in a miscarriage and a significant proportion of those are in already clinically recognized pregnancies (when the pregnant person already knows they are pregnant).
Miscarriage vs. Abortion
The words miscarriage and abortion are often used interchangeably. For example, a missed abortion in the world of obstetrics means that pregnancy stopped naturally and that there is no heartbeat or if early enough in the pregnancy, that there is no continuation of fetal growth or development. These pregnancies can pass naturally with bleeding or can be aided by a physician by giving medication of performing a procedure. During this time, there is a lot in terms of discussion of possible contributing factors including abnormal genetics and counseling on recurrence for the next pregnancy. It’s a tough, sensitive time for patients. I know it from both sides.
Ectopic Pregnancy
Sometimes desired pregnancies present themselves as ectopic pregnancies. An ectopic pregnancy is when an already fertilized egg implants and begins to grow outside of the uterus in an area that cannot adequately support the pregnancy. Most of the ectopic pregnancies (>90%) occur in the fallopian tube, but no matter where the pregnancy implants, it can be life threatening for the pregnant person. This is because the location in which the ectopic pregnancy has implanted cannot grow, expand and adequately support the pregnancy nutritionally and can result in the structure rupturing and causing internal bleeding. While all miscarriages can feel devastating, an ectopic pregnancy is an emergency that requires immediate treatment by a physician. Depending on the size and development of the ectopic pregnancy and the patient’s symptoms, the ectopic pregnancy can be treated with medication or by surgery. This too gives a great sense of loss for patients because often these pregnancies were highly desired.
It is important to note that being treated for a miscarriage or an ectopic pregnancy either by the use of medications or surgery is not considered a termination. As a high-risk obstetrician, I know that providing great medical care for a miscarriage, an ectopic pregnancy or providing access to desired abortion care is essential for the pregnant person’s health and safety.
Shedding Light on the Darkness
With my personal journey of years of infertility and in vitro fertilizations, there are not many positives from that sunny day in NYC. However, that personal darkness shed light on all of what my patients in similar situations had to go through. I talk about my history openly, if asked. When appropriate, I share with my patients about my loss and about infertility. I am reminded by my patients that we have to speak more about these human experiences. To normalize them, to not feel alone. As for the experience of that day, I am thankful for that knowledge and when I have to be the first to tell my patient that she just had a pregnancy loss, I get close to her and I hope that my words, my actions and my demeanor show them what I am thinking inside…. I see you and I’ve got you.
References/Resources
https://www.acog.org/advocacy/abortion-is-essential
https://www.acog.org/advocacy/facts-are-important/understanding-ectopic-pregnancy
