This story was submitted to us.
When I had my daughter in 2021, I struggled from the start. You see parenting did not come easy or natural for me. I suffered from serious postpartum depression and anxiety. So bad most days I couldn’t leave the house.
I put in so much time and worked so hard on getting my mental health under control and being the mum my daughter deserved.
I did 18 months of fortnightly therapy working with a psychologist who specialised in attachment and bonding. All that work and effort I put in resulted in a beautiful, kind little girl with a healthy attachment to her mama. We're happy and have a comfortable and consistent life. I was able to give this to her, but it took all of me to accomplish it. I finally found our peace and went back to work and felt confident and like myself again.
Everything I did I did for her. So when I found out I was pregnant in 2024 there wasn't even a question of what I was going to do. I was not going to risk my daughter’s happiness and potentially take the mother she trusts and counts on away from her. I would not even risk the chance of putting her through that. She would have lost the mama she knew. Nah, not a chance I'd do something so cruel.
I took the tablets at home at 7 weeks and didn’t feel a second of regret. Three months later I discovered I was pregnant again. I felt so much shame. How could I let this happen again? I hated myself but it only lasted a minute.
You see it’s society that makes us feel that shame and the shame isolates us. I am human, I make mistakes and I am definitely not what society has conditioned us to believe I am by making these mistakes.
The same reasons to terminate still applied. But at 8 weeks I had a miscarriage before I could take the pills. Abortion was going to be my plan if I hadn't.
I felt no guilt, no regrets, only relief. My daughter still has her mum healthy and is well and I made the right decision for us. People say I am selfish but the decision I made was made out of love. I selflessly chose my daughter and I will always choose her.
Every abortion has a story and individual reasons behind it. No one has any right to tell you that those reasons are invalid or wrong. You need to do what’s right for you. No one else can tell you what that is. Head up, shoulders back, you've got this!
Unplanned pregnancies are common and do not merit blame or shame. Click here to see why.