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S2: E10: Cultural Perspectives on Loss: Exploring how different cultures acknowledge, grieve, or silence early pregnancy loss.
82 Plays4 days ago
In this deeply moving episode, we are joined by Hinda and Zahra, two inspiring women from the East African community in Melbourne, Australia. Zahra, a registered nurse and midwife, works with East AfriCare, a program dedicated to supporting East African women, particularly those who are vulnerable, new to the country, and facing language and educational barriers, through the experience of miscarriage. Hinda bravely shares her personal story of pregnancy loss and the immense challenges she faced, highlighting the critical need for more culturally sensitive support systems.
This conversation sheds light on the often-overlooked logistical and emotional burdens of miscarriage, especially for women with other young children and limited financial resources. We explore the profound statement that "healing is a privilege" and discuss the cultural nuances and taboos surrounding early pregnancy loss within East African communities, particularly Somali backgrounds.
EARLY PREGNANCY LOSS SUPPORT
If you or someone you know has experienced miscarriage or early pregnancy loss, please know you are not alone.
- For crisis support, please call Lifeline - 13 11 14.
- Access all our support
- Connect through Live Chat with Peer Support
- Join Online Communities
- Call out Pregnancy Loss helpline delivered by PANDA
- Join the Circle of support
- Follow @pinkelephantssupport on Instagram.
STACEY JUNE LEWIS
You can follow our host Stacey on her personal Instagram account where she shares some of her lived experience.
For more details on Africare and their services you can find them here: Africare Community Services
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Transcript
Introduction to Podcast and Guests
00:00:04
Speaker
Welcome to the miscarriage rebellion. I am Stacey June Lewis, lead of the Pink Elephant Support Network group counseling program, Grief and Grace. And along with Pink Elephant's co-founder and CEO, Sam Payne, through this podcast, we will share the stories of many Australians who have lost their babies to early pregnancy loss.
00:00:21
Speaker
With evidence and empathy, we unpack the shame, blame and stigma and lack of support that they may face. This is a loss that has been silenced for far too long and we deserve better. We are here to normalize the conversation and to make lasting change.
00:00:36
Speaker
So we are sitting here on a Monday morning on a cold Melbourne day and I'm sitting here with two wonderful women, Hinda and Zahra. Zahra is here to interpret the conversation that I'm to have with Hinda.
00:00:51
Speaker
Zahra works at a ah place called East AfriCare which I really am excited to hear about soon Zahra. And Hinda comes from lived experience, so having experienced her own pregnancy loss and wants to also um talk about advocacy and give us some information on what it really means to lose um lose a baby ah in her community and share some stories that she has so delicately held on behalf of friends and other people in her community. So it gives us greater context as to what this experience looks like across across our country. So thanks for being here, ladies.
00:01:29
Speaker
Thank you Thank you for that.
Role of East AfriCare in Supporting Women
00:01:31
Speaker
So Zahra, can you tell us a little bit about firstly what East AfriCare does and your relationship with Hinder and then Hinder and I will continue the conversation and thank you so much for being here to interpret it for us.
00:01:45
Speaker
and Thank you for having us here this morning. So East Africa is a program that helps women um that are going through miscarriage, is specifically women at the background of East African, including Somali, Sudanese, Urchin, Ethiopian. um So we try and um find and help the women who don't have access to healthcare, who don't speak the language, who are immigrants, who are new the country, who are ignorant to the symptoms that are going through and who need a lot of help. And also, there's also another taboo with going through miscarriages in these communities, um being shamed, you can't talk about them. And a lot of it to do with with culture and not having that support within each other, um just to the extent where they can't even acknowledge or address if they're pregnant that they have to hide until the pregnancy shows and then they feel comfortable with showing it. So miscarriage is an extremely big taboo in those backgrounds. So we're trying to um bring awareness and educate them and provide support in those specific background um women.
Personal Experiences and Challenges of Miscarriage
00:03:03
Speaker
And I'm a registered nurse as well, slash midwife that worked in the hospital for the last several years. So yeah, I provide consultations with those women. i educate them when they need help, symptoms, provide them reassurance, making them um normalizing this. And Hinda is one of, she was one of the participants as well.
00:03:28
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. So Hinda, thanks so much for being here and sharing your story and I am so sorry for your loss. Could you tell us a little bit about your experience with early pregnancy loss and why you feel it's important to share your story?
00:03:47
Speaker
So she said she experienced her first miscarriage while she was three months and she went to the hospital and they sent to her home and she had a lot of a lot of but blood loss and she's been going back to the hospital back and forth because I think it was a threatened miscarriage to the point that she was in so much pain and she told him um I just want to get over done with like I want all of it to come out And they told her, you need to go home and wait. And she said, I came home and waited. And there was a lot of blood loss, a lot of pain, and that she felt like her family, her kids were neglected. And obviously, she didn't have the capacity, whether it's mentally or physically, to take care of them. And and there's just lot little support as well, especially when you're only two parents, husband working full time. So it's only her at home with other three or four kids. um So, yeah, she said it took a while going back for hospital and home to finally, like, to complete the process. So she said she's sharing this because there's a lot of women in her situation or even worse in her situation that the most important thing being when you are going through that that process, getting the support that you need because you have other kids in the home. You have got family in the home that are being neglected, that you don't have the capacity to take care of. And she's saying there has to be more awareness and much more support um in that in the community. Mm-hmm.
00:05:23
Speaker
And Hinda, if you were to receive more support and someone was to say, okay, we'll come and give that to you, what would that look like?
Financial and Access Challenges
00:05:35
Speaker
What would have been helpful for you? um She said, I think the biggest support in that moment would be being able to contact someone for support. And then the other second thing would be having um community or somewhere where you can call or contact them.
00:05:57
Speaker
to sort of with the kids she said when i went to the hospital and I took the kids the the hospital has to be quiet you can't bring kids you have to have certain number you need to take the kids back and she said obviously there's only one parent the other person has to work when So she said that's one of the biggest struggle because there's just very limitation in support. And it would be a lot helpful if there is a way where they could access daycare for those particular women who cannot afford to pay for the daycare as well.
00:06:38
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's such an important point because I think sometimes when we hear stories about pregnancy loss, it is obviously a harrowing loss and the feelings it is you know bringing up in you is one element. And then there's a logistical element of how you can even begin to process that because you're still working through physicality. You're actually still you know going through the physical symptoms of a loss.
00:07:08
Speaker
And then you also have other children. So I'm i'm sorry that that was just so challenging for you. in terms of how it felt for you and how you're feeling about this experience, where are you currently at with where it's sitting and and how does that how is that recognised or acknowledged within your home or your community?
00:07:35
Speaker
um She said as far as how she's doing, and now she's in a better place. But she said um it's different when you're financially like not in a great position. She said you can't even afford, you don't have the capacity to think about yourself or your healing or your pain, even though you're in so much pain. You're thinking about how am I feeding these kids? How am I going to afford to get someone to take care of them when I'm at the hospital? She said my prior I was never a priority for myself or my healing or my pain, even though i was losing a lot of blood. She was in a lot of pain. but She said my priorities was different.
00:08:18
Speaker
She said she went back to the hospital for an ultrasound and that day she paid, sorry, she took them to the daycare. She's been taking them while she was going to the hospital. And she only used to take them when she's not working, when she's working. And when she's not working, she will have them at home. But for now, because she's been on and off hospital, she took them. And then while she was um in yeah ER, r she received a text saying that, oh, I was ah finished. From now on, you're going to have to pay the full amount. So she said, in that instant, I'm not even worrying about myself being at the hospital and being in pain. I'm worrying about how am I paying this? I do not work.
00:09:00
Speaker
I do not have money. Who's going to take care of them? What are they going to eat? So she said, I'm not in that moment. I'm not ah I'm not even thinking about myself or I'm not a priority to think about It's a privilege to think about my healing and how I'm gonna be okay. That's one thing So she said that's one of the the biggest problem in issues and she said she took her kids to an um, she took herself to an ultrasound that day and she managed to find a family member or a person to take care of the kids and they told her we're going to change your appointment to tomorrow and she said I can't because i managed to find somebody and I can't afford to take them to daycare and they told her no you can bring them tomorrow if they're going to strictly sit down and be quiet and don't scream and she said I've got two-year-old and a four-year-old they're not going to sit down quietly
00:09:53
Speaker
So she was like, and the the cost was 700, but I don't have the 700. Where am I going to get this? So she said, I don't
Isolation and Community Support
00:10:01
Speaker
even have time to prioritize or heal when I'm worried about I'm going to pay this and I'm going to pay my bills.
00:10:09
Speaker
That's so profound to say that healing is a privilege. And I think it's a really important thing. part of this picture is that when we do talk about yourself that it is really one of those elements of a secondary thought And, yeah, I'm just kind of sitting in awe of the fact that you went through that.
00:10:37
Speaker
and I think you heal when you don't – like, let's say, if you have bigger problems, like as as far as having a roof, having food, your electricity paid, and then you can worry and say, okay, am I okay? Can I heal my kids at food? But when you don't have – when you're worrying about the necessity, the last thing on your mind is how am I going to heal? Because you don't even have the necessity. Mm-hmm.
00:11:02
Speaker
Yeah, she said also her husband works full time, but he doesn't have a sick leave or annual leave. um And if he misses one day of work, he may he loses that pay for the day. And so then they would not afford like to pay for the rent or for the grocery. So she said it's it's just very...
00:11:24
Speaker
Loaded. Yeah, loaded. There's a lot of things to consider. Exactly. It's not simple. Yeah. And that is a really interesting element because the question I asked sounded like a simple question. So I thank you for showing the color and the complexity of an answer like that for yourself. Yeah.
00:11:42
Speaker
I want to ask about your supports around emotionally and if there was someone that you confided in for yourself in that time. As you said, there were obviously elements of this picture that didn't have great capacity for you to be thinking of anything. But is this a conversation you could have with your husband? Is it a conversation that you did have eventually with a friend Was there someone that you had to talk to this about or is this a conversation point that's difficult with yourself or within your community?
00:12:17
Speaker
She said she shared it with two or three friends that also went through the same um like experiences and some of them have been worse than me. So she said that sort of put things in perspective. So is there any stories, because I know that you have been talking to the a lot of different women across this experience since you have experienced yours and I think you both have worked together with different people in groups capacities, on this particular point. But are there things that you can share that give us a a bit of a bird's eye view, like it kind of comes out and lets us see what other experiences could be happening in your community that do differ to yours and that potentially have given you perspective or could give us perspective on the variety of experiences of early pregnancy loss for women in your community?
00:13:14
Speaker
She said, yeah, yeah, she said I'm comfortable sharing different experiences that went through in the community. I am not here just for me and I'm not here only to share my story. i also want to share it relevant to people that are worse than me. He would go back home to Somalia and get married and then come back. Well, the husband resides in that country. and then let's say she even had kids prior.
00:13:42
Speaker
um before marrying him and then when she comes back now she's even if that's her first child and she goes through miscarriage she's completely like alone and isolated in that house at least for the people that are married um they would have the husband to come home and then the husband would help them for like emotional or any other support She said some of them actually don't even drive. So it's just that person just went through a miscarriage. she goes to the hospital. She she gets sent home. and Now you're completely alone by yourself. There's no husband. There's no financial support. You can't work because you are bleeding and you're in pain. And it's just completely them. So she said those people need a lot of support more than anything especially if they had prior children whether it's emotional support whether it is when they go to the hospital maybe they refer to them to social work and a little bit that's also a language barrier to talk to those women so yeah think particularly those women would need a lot more support because they're just completely isolated are alone
00:14:51
Speaker
And what is the what is the community, were your community's relationship with early pregnancy loss from a religious or kind of spiritual, cultural perspective? what How is it seen? What is this experience and is there particular meaning or ritual She said the women themselves acknowledge obviously the experiences because they're the one going through it and the pain and they talk to amongst themselves, like obviously not the men. um
00:15:24
Speaker
And she said they some of them even say women who never experienced miscarriage do not give birth. It doesn't matter if you have 18 children because the the pain is not the same as experiencing the loss.
00:15:38
Speaker
of that um child. So she said, yes, they do acknowledge it amongst themselves and they talk about it amongst themselves. And yeah, to some extent for the people who have friends, I think they do support each other amongst themselves. It's just the ones that are don't have that connection to other people or don't have friends or don't have any other women.
00:16:01
Speaker
Okay. So let me just get this clear if I've heard correctly. So what I'm hearing is the isolation is less about it being a cultural kind of um shunned topic and taboo topic, but it's more about the isolation and the um the barriers of the community in the way you the the the way that life is here. So essentially if you do find yourself isolated, not able to work, don't speak the language.
00:16:33
Speaker
I'm not necessarily like openly talking about it but like discreetly, yes this happened to me, can you help me? So it's like something that's discreet. So she said it is a very big taboo and that's why we're trying to have workshops and to talk about it amongst and each other and make it more normalized. But it's not something that's very openly discussed.
00:16:54
Speaker
they They acknowledge it, they experience it. They help um each other if they can, or just within their own in a very like discreet way. Right. So the connection has been there for you, but it was kind of almost on secret. So it's almost like the secret type of club essentially that it's, you know, it's something that isn't openly discussed. Yeah, they're not as comfortable to openly share um what like what they went through or what miscarriages. Yeah. So what why
Cultural and Religious Perspectives
00:17:25
Speaker
is it taboo? what is it What does it mean in this culture, in this community to experience an early pregnancy loss, to give a really clear picture on what what is why is it so private?
00:17:36
Speaker
So for example, like in society, the story goes in terms of a more generalised cultural society here from my understanding and perspective personally, is that early pregnancy loss can be seen as not a real baby or not a real loss, that it was early, so it might not mean anything, or lucky, you can fall pregnant, or you know there's a lot of attitudes around diminishing the validity of the experience. So that's an example of why it's kind of looked upon as taboo from my perspective in a bigger culture perspective. I'm interested to know if there's like specific, as you say, taboo elements in your culture or in your community.
00:18:25
Speaker
She said maybe the first month or so or two months if the miscarriage, the first month, yeah, the first month if it passes, um then that would be maybe minimised and be like, okay, you're not as in pain or you're not as, you're not experiencing or you just, yeah, you don't have a lot of pain, you don't lose a lot of blood, so it's very early on. It could be minimised and say it's fine.
00:18:53
Speaker
Like, you know, it's not a big deal because it's still early on. But she said once it hits two, or three months, if for the women that experience miscarriage, she said, um yet there we acknowledge it and we know it. So we support each other in that case. And as far as the men, obviously not full hands-on, but they are aware of it. And yeah, I'm not sure about this to the extent of the support that they get from the husband.
00:19:19
Speaker
She said we do share like with friends, Obviously, like families know if it's up to the three months mark, so they do share amongst each other and say, yes, that person went through miscarriage because the the baby's gone. So that's something that we have to share. She said, is um to some extent, if it's like, depending on how ah what month of the pregnancy is, It could be minimised in the early on, but she said if it's like in the middle and you're, depending on how how much pain and you're experiencing a lot of pain and a lot of blood loss, then you're sick. So then we would share. Right. So a lot of it can be gauged on the physical symptoms.
00:20:04
Speaker
you know thats Yeah. actually yeah so the severity or the yeah because e serious yeah is how yeah how you're physically presenting yeah okay and what about um you know kind of religiously spiritually is there a belief system particularly of your own you don't have to speak on behalf of the community Where, you know, is this to you? how would how do you see the baby that you lost? What is your spiritual religious connection to this baby that came and unfortunately didn't?
00:20:38
Speaker
Yeah, she said as far as religion why religious wise, um it's up to God. Like the way um she looks at is that God gave me and God took it away. Okay, thank you.
00:20:51
Speaker
That gives me lovely context. So I've just got a couple more questions. One of them is, what would you think would be a culturally sensitive approach to this experience?
00:21:09
Speaker
So the specifics of what you needed and what the women in your life needed. to support this experience better and i don't mean this which it could be in the logistics and the things that you've said but is there specific things for the system or the people around you that are supposed to be there to support So she said when i went through the miscarriage process and I was being discharged from the hospital, i yes, there was a lot of support. They came to me. They said, we're sorry for your loss. They gave me information who to contact and if I need extra support, who to talk to. She said at the end, um a particular person came and gave me a candle and some ritual and they were like, oh, you can light this candle and then it will sort of use it as like a healing or just light it and and use it. And she said, if you see a Muslim woman, whether it's my background or not, like more religious wise, we don't believe in spiritual. So she said that made me very uncomfortable. It's more of a religion thing. I believe in God and God gave me the child and he took it away. And I'm thankful for that. Like that was his plan. That's it. So she said that sort of is uncomfortable. And that's one thing that I would want for them not to do.
00:22:33
Speaker
Interesting. for muslim women she said maybe it's fine for the obviously for other backgrounds she said i can't speak for that but ah my religion her religion doesn't allow that so she said that's almost offensive or almost not a misunderstanding uncomfortable yeah she said i i wouldn't want that i don't believe in lighting candles or rich or anything like that like Yeah. Okay. Yeah, that's really, really interesting because I certainly felt what, yeah, that there was a misrepresentation, you know, that's, yeah, interesting. Okay.
00:23:08
Speaker
And so that's really helpful. And is there anything else like that, that in those instances that you feel like was, would be useful even to think about the women that you have shared this experience with, something that they feel like they would want others to know?
Gender Sensitivity in Healthcare
00:23:27
Speaker
She said um this one of the other things was that happened to her um when she is going through the process. Obviously, she needs an interpreter. And she said other medical conditions, I'm completely fine with any interpreter, whether it's a female or a male. But she said when it's a ah miscarriage, I'm more vulnerable and i I need a woman by my side. So she said they call a man who is also from her background, just this Somali man. so And then he would look at me say, what do you want me to talk about? And she said, then i don't feel 100% myself or comfortable to even share what I want to share. at First, he speaks my language. And secondly, he's from my own community. So she said, so that's something I do not want.
00:24:16
Speaker
So it's it's yeah it's a ah it's a ah situation well that calls for what's comfortable, which is often women understanding women's experiences. Yeah, like sharing that with a man. Is yeah there's anything to do with intimate kind of women's, whether that's menstrual cycle, miscarriage, intimacy, is that across the board or is it specifically this miscarriage that feels particularly sensitive?
00:24:45
Speaker
She said, um if it's my own, if it's my doctor, and obviously she said it's fine, whether it's a female or a male, it's fine because he's my doctor. But she said when it comes to interpreter, anything to do with women, like intimate women, medical issues, miscarriage, period, anything, if there is a man that is trying to interpret in Somali, she said, I don't know what to talk about.
00:25:12
Speaker
Yeah. So I prefer women. It makes you withhold information. Yeah, absolutely. Which it can be unsafe. Yeah, so she said. And dangerous. Yeah. Okay, well, that's fairly important, I would think. Yeah. um Thank you so much for sharing. I just want to make sure I haven't missed anything.
00:25:27
Speaker
And I guess, Zelda, I want to just give you the opportunity before we we wrap up, Inder, to also, i don't know, just give us your um your take on this particular experience and what your observation of what we're missing, like, in this conversation in regards to um east African women, but particularly in this instance we're talking about the Somalian people well, Hindia's experience, but we are talking a little bit further on yeah um women that she is talking to in her community who are Somali. I think every woman has a different experience, a different background.
00:26:09
Speaker
Hindia, she has a very positive um experience as far as not being taboo able to share with family friends able like to share that pain which is amazing but one of my participants depending on like with what they've experienced especially if it's like um miscarriage out of marriage that's one thing that is really big on because you can't even show you're pregnant because you're not married let alone experiencing it now because it's forbidden in the religion so that's something that you'll be you'll be isolated and you you will shun yourself because then you did a bad thing you're a bad person so yeah that's that's one of
00:26:59
Speaker
Quite a serious, dangerous element of this. Yeah, quite very serious, yeah. And in terms of how we can support those women, I mean, how do you guys go about that situation in terms of yourself and an organisation? Yeah. And how would you say, as a society, we can better support that experience it is so isolating? Yeah, I think only have one participant who shared that with me that happened I think two years
00:27:31
Speaker
Till this day she never shared it with anyone, not with her mum, not with her sister, completely nobody but herself. So I was the only person that she was willing to share that with me with the promise of me not sharing her name.
00:27:43
Speaker
um So yeah, it's it's something that we talked about and she's healing from it now, even though it's been like such a like a while, long time. and But as far as I would like to know more women who go through very similar situations, because I feel like they're more vulnerable when it comes to that and they need a lot more support, a lot more openness, because then they don't have family support.
00:28:12
Speaker
I think there's a particular story that I want to share about one of um at the other workshops that i we talked about. and i was happy to hear that she was comfortable enough to talk about it amongst other women.
Workshops and Education Initiatives
00:28:27
Speaker
So we did a workshop with um Somali Voice in Hedberg, which we brought women together sharing stories of their own, which sort of creates that networking and makes them comfortable. And it's healing as well when women sit down and have conversation about their experiences. It really is healing. So she, um it was similar experiences that Hinda talked about, um it it goes more into mental health as well, which is a little bit, I think, taboo in our community. Mental health as in like depression or anxiety or seeing a therapist. She came to this country. um I think she's been here just for...
00:29:07
Speaker
fairly new, she's got seven kids, she experienced around full miscarriages and she did go to the GP but every time it was the same results because of a language barrier she didn't understand or she didn't just, it it wasn't beneficial information as she shared and then the fifth miscarriage he told her you shouldn't be having, while you keep having kids you shouldn't be getting pregnant because your iron is so low it's very dangerous And she said, i
00:29:39
Speaker
I sort of, why wouldn't you tell me the last four miscarriages that my iron level was too low and you're sharing this with me now after I've been struggling and this is my fifth miscarriage. And she talked about how some of the practices are not as helpful and not a single GP or the one that was is she was going to did a thorough health check or blood levels, which is very like... Basic. Basic.
00:30:07
Speaker
Basic and vital. As soon as you have a miscarriage, you've lost a lot of blood. do You do your iron check, blood levels, everything. Well, you do it sometimes if you do a generic health check. Correct. Yeah. She said she didn't have that. It took her to lose four kids for her to get checked her blood levels to be told. Your body needs time to heal. You're unwell medically and unfed medically while you keep trying. And she said...
00:30:32
Speaker
There was no support, there was no effort, there was also a language barrier and she just felt numb and it's also lacking that, like being ignorant and not knowing, um not having education.
Healthcare System Failures
00:30:48
Speaker
She said he told me to take some vitamins. She said I bought them and I couldn't even read what they're for. I don't know who to tell me what these vitamins are for or how many times i need to take. Just simple things like that. So when she was sharing that, like I got emotional. I thought that's, yeah, that that was really, really, really sad. And she said, i will tell every woman that comes to this country, please do not get married and don't have children for the first two years.
00:31:18
Speaker
until you know the basics to the other women. because she did a struggle. yeah Yeah. And then she shared and said, if this program had been around, ah you have been around, it would have been more beneficial for me because obviously some of the consultations that we provide ah go to their homes. Just sitting her down and just the basics, talking about it. So you've lost a lot of blood, to how are you feeling? What did your GP say? Did you do blood? Can you ask him to do blood check on you?
00:31:47
Speaker
I'm more than happy to make appointments. I'm more than happy to read the vitamins that you need to take. Like I'm saying, even that small, little health. It might be overlooked, but it's extremely essential and important because it took her four miscarriages that she didn't have to experience. yeah too yeah And I think even you know women that speak the language can often miss really basic elements of this experience.
00:32:11
Speaker
But I can't even imagine what it would be like to then have a GP who's constantly trying to focus on the fact that they can't understand each other. So there would have to be a bias in missing information or missing basic, as you say, human checks and human rights. Because they're so focused on the fact that there is not the same language being spoken.
00:32:31
Speaker
So then all of these other elements are missed in those, you know, as you say, basic checks that can come from just, oh, I've been feeling a little tired. Okay, let's do all of these bloods. Whereas something like this, which is quite a severe experience to go through, let's be honest. Yeah, absolutely. And it isn't always, but for many of us it is. um to then not have, ah you know, a real thorough health check and to be able to expect that yeah from a healthcare professional in the context of whether you speak the language or not.
00:33:06
Speaker
Yeah, she just felt unheard. She felt overlooked because she didn't know the language. She felt like she wasn't educated. So she was overlooked and unheard. And she just felt like it shouldn't have gotten to this point where I had to experience a fifth of one to be told my errands low. I should have done on the first one. And she said, i um i don't have the education. I can't read write. So, yeah, it was it's just...
00:33:31
Speaker
just Yeah, quite sad hearing that. Yeah, which I'm sure contributes to mental health challenges if you feel like you can't advocate for yourself, you can't look after yourself, you don't understand what's required or you miss something, which we can all feel. But if you feel like you also don't have the capacity to learn more in this country, yeah that now you're out of control, you know, and you're feeling really vulnerable is probably not even the word for it, but really scared. Yeah, I also think basic education can go, like, far. She talked about how she didn't even know, like, she needed to wait certain time to conceive again and to let your body heal. Like, informations like that are very vital to these women and some of them don't have that education from this and like certain backgrounds. yeah So that's also very important. And we were discussing that day. To not assume the knowledge. Absolutely, yeah. She expressed that. She said, i had no idea. I even needed to wait for three months because I was just, the net kept having the next and the next because the GP didn't educate her. He didn't even do the vital, I mean, the basics, checks with her. So, yeah, she mentally, physically, it takes a toll on you and a four in a row, as you can imagine. i can't even imagine, yeah.
00:34:52
Speaker
Thank you for sharing that. That's really important. She said she was born in Somalia and she came here when she was 18 and got married at 19 to a guy who's from back home, Somalia.
00:35:05
Speaker
And she brought him here. No, she didn't brought him here. So sorry. She went there, married him, came back pregnant. and she said she didn't have any words today.
Closing and Support Invitation
00:35:15
Speaker
Today's episode may have brought up some feelings that you need some extra support around, and that's totally okay.
00:35:21
Speaker
Head to pinkhelephants.org.au to access our circle of support, your space where you can be met with empathy and support through all of your experiences of early pregnancy loss.
00:35:32
Speaker
We're here for you. You're not alone.