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Showing posts from May, 2011

Mother's Day

I didn’t realize that I had scheduled an abortion doula shift for the weekend of Mother’s Day until the night before my shift. At that point, I wasn’t sure what impact it would have on the women I’d be supporting, if any at all. But I was prepared to face any emotional surprises that might trigger the patients, whether they might come from those crappy Hallmark commercials that always end up playing on the television in the intake room, or from the sight of small children sitting with their parents in the larger waiting rooms. Even on a weekend that has nothing to do with parenting, patients are understandably emotional before, during, and after an abortion, and their feelings are complex and intricately intertwined -- relief with sorrow, gratefulness with regret, anxiety with impatience. These thoughts, coupled with exhaustion, hunger, and a deep desire to be at their own homes and in their own beds mean that, even under the best possible circumstances, these days can be hard on anyon