Pregnancy & Beyond
Posted on August 11, 2009
The RESOLVE volunteers in Arizona have agreed to start new support groups. One is for the men and the other is for those who make it to the other side. I volunteered to head up the Pregnancy & Beyond support group. At first I wasn’t sure if I was the best person for the job, but it turns out that everything happens for a reason.
The group meets once per month. A few months ago three gals attended the meeting and really bonded. A few weeks after that initial meeting one of the gals ended up in the hospital where the doctors tried everything to keep her baby inside (and did for 6 weeks). Her little girl was born at 26 1/2 weeks and went home August 1st. This woman received emails and phone calls from the other two gals from the support group meeting. It was very cool to watch the friendship grow between these three who only spent 2 hours together at one support group meeting!
Then a couple of weeks ago, another gal went into preterm labor and her babies (twins) were born too soon. This woman is a former NICU nurse so she is all to realistic about the battle her babies have ahead of them. The report she left me today, though, was that they were gaining weight and doing fairly well.
The third gal is due this weekend. I hope all goes well for her and her little girl.
My point is that sometimes women will need support once they become pregnant. Whether it’s to get advice about the best type of bottle, crib or stroller or to discuss more challenging issues such as postpartum depression or what to expect when bringing home a premature baby.
» Filed Under Infertility, Premature Births
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3 Responses to “Pregnancy & Beyond”
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I really agree that joining a small group of people in the same situation as you help! The morale support and friendship extended through sharing and caring for each other really encourages and increase the confidence level of a pregnancy women. =)
Groups like these are invaluable. It’s such a bonding experience to be able to share what you are going through. My last baby was born nearly 10 years ago and I met some really great people in a pregnancy group – we still meet up and swap stories after all this time.
I went to a support group after birth where you find out a lot of useful stuff. But there was almost nothing during pregnancy, something like this would have been very useful.