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"It’s Okay That It Sucks"
Description
After enduring four pregnancy losses in just twelve months, the most healing words Macie heard didn’t offer false hope or easy silver linings, they simply acknowledged the brutal truth: "it's not ok, this sucks." In this episode of the AllPaths Podcast, Macie, a 26-year-old Michigan native living in Massachusetts with her husband and their Great Dane, Luna, shares her journey through recurrent pregnancy loss.
Macie speaks candidly about the physical and emotional toll of repeated loss, beginning with a first-trimester miscarriage following a high-risk monosomy X screening, moving through subsequent unexplained losses, and navigating a diagnosis of Factor V Leiden that required daily blood thinner injections. She reflects on the loneliness of facing pregnancy loss at a young age, the sting of well-intentioned but dismissive comments like "you're young, you have time," and the pivotal moment an ultrasound technician gave her permission to stop putting on a brave face and acknowledge that her situation simply was unfair and painful.
Towards the end of the conversation, Macie offers a vulnerable look at being in the "messy middle" of her family building journey as she is currently pregnant again, exploring the complex mix of anxiety and guarded hope as she reaches the end of the first trimester while managing progesterone support, daily injections, and clear genetic testing. Together with the hosts, she examines the comfort found in specialized perinatal therapy, the power of connecting with peers in the AllPaths "Expecting After" Support Group, and the practical ways loved ones can show up by offering safe, quiet spaces to grieve rather than trying to fix the unfixable. And by speaking candidly from the unresolved middle of her journey rather than waiting for the safety of the other side, Macie reminds us that you don’t need a neatly tied-up ending for your story, your grief, or your guarded hope to matter.
🧡 You are not alone: https://allpathsfb.org/support/.
TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:
Pregnancy loss, miscarriage support, recurrent pregnancy loss, pregnancy after miscarriage, infertility support groups, Factor V Leiden pregnancy, blood thinners during pregnancy, progesterone supplementation pregnancy, NIPT testing early pregnancy, genetic counseling prenatal, coping with pregnancy loss, pregnancy anxiety after loss, miscarriage causes testing, early pregnancy bleeding causes, fertility clinic evaluation recurrent loss, Sara Bareilles, the messy middle, pregnancy after loss, Expecting After support group, peer support, support groups, AllPaths Family Building support, emotional support infertility, prenatal blood clotting disorders, how to support someone after miscarriage, how to support someone after pregnancy loss
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