With my breasts and belly so exaggerated, the rest of me felt diminished. By Jennie Rabinowitz
pregnancy
I want the roses as much as I hate them. By Leslie Stonebraker
We tell the world about the lives that live, but we hold inside the lives that are lost. By Adrian Rose
It’s not just a celebrity thing. I know lots of mothers who have struck this pose. By Andrea Firth
It was my CIA training and experience that eventually helped alleviate some of the anxiety. By Christina Hillsberg
It occurred to me that I would have to live with this lifeless body—my baby—inside me for the next four days. By Sarah Gundle
I stumbled over the “they.” It felt clunky in my mouth. By Melissa Brand
It took growing another being inside of me—becoming two—to learn to truly stand up for myself. By Rebecca Kling
In the past twelve months you have become Mama and Mommy and Mum, but you are also still you. By Emily Brisse
According to specialists, a 12-week delay won’t make the difference between someone having a baby or not. By Mimi Sager Yoskowitz
Shelter in place has become a cocoon where our family has slowly let this diagnosis of Down syndrome sink in. By Maggie Shafer
Every fertility journey is different. You never really know what somebody else is going through. By Amy Klein
Maybe following these accounts is a form of penance for the guilt of being one of the lucky ones who got to take her baby home. By Justine Feron
After bursting into tears, you text your brother-in-law: “Sorry, this is awkward, but make sure she doesn’t use a tampon for the bleeding.” By Lorren Lemmons
Our favorite naming site, Nameberry, predicts next year’s hottest baby names.
If my mother is not here, who will show up to bring me flowers when I am vacuumed out,
cells gone, clean, neat, dark, unseeded? By Emily Franklin
My eyes focus on my abdomen, the bulge pregnancy has left behind. My inner critic opens her mouth…but then I take in the whole picture. By Chrissie Dunham
Hearing “nonviable” is heartbreaking. Having to ignore that in front of 32 smiling second graders is even harder. By Caitlin Cherry
Next to Orion’s Belt are two dimmer stars. These are the babies I lost, one before each of my sons. By Julia Pelly
Our daughter asked good questions—what about the other baby? Were we sad? Why did it happen? By Cynthia Nuara
Our married life was no longer comfortable. There was no indulgence, no whispered promises of sweet dessert. By Hannah Grieco
If my belly was round and full of baby, would I hate my body less? This body that betrayed me. By Brittany Wren
When he was two, I spent mornings stuffing tubes of penne with scrambled eggs to trick him into eating something other than pasta. By Marianna Marlowe
Whether to have a baby before tenure is still one of the most pressing questions for female academics. By Sarah Rivett
The decision not to find out my unborn child’s sex is perhaps the most intimate and important one I have ever made. By Laine Munir