Ashleigh, Massachusetts

Wife, daughter, sister, mother to two angels and two fur children.

After five years of marriage, my husband and I decided it was time to add children to our family. After five months of trying, we were expecting our first child. Five months later we discovered at our 19-week anatomy scan that our child had several anomalies and was “incompatible with life.” After being given our options, we decided to terminate the pregnancy by D&E. Four months after that we discovered we were expecting our second child. We were cautiously optimistic – hoping for the best but expecting the worst. At our 13-week scan our second child was diagnosed with anencephaly. With a sense of deja vu, we decided to terminate this pregnancy by D&E. In a span of seven months we lost two children; terminated two pregnancies due to lethal abnormalities. Full story.

Taylorfireflies, Dominican Republic

A 20-something year old about to start a Ph.D in Educational Leadership. Digital artist, broadcaster, educator, & human rights activist from a developing country. Yes… I collect degrees. Married my best friend and rock last year.

At the anatomy scan, we found out our rainbow baby was extremely sick and probably wouldn’t make it. After the top doctors told us it was a matter of time, we chose to terminate for our baby’s sake and our own. The pain is ever-present, but writing about it and reading other stories like ours has been very helpful. I share our story to create awareness and to help others find comfort in my words.  Full story.