Your story is needed because no two stories are exactly alike. The only criteria are that you (or your significant other) terminated a pregnancy that was A. wanted, B. involved a fetal or maternal medical diagnosis.

Share your story with our readers because there is healing in writing out our stories, and sharing them with others so they don’t feel so alone. It’s cathartic. It help us sort through the pieces, the reasons and so much more. Our stories provide the common threads with which healing is woven, the realization that we’re not alone, the validation in sharing not just our reasons and rationales, but the emotions that come with doing the right thing when it can be such a hard thing.

We invite you to share your story here at Ending a Wanted Pregnancy, whether there are already dozens of stories with a diagnosis similar to yours, or if there are none. Your story is needed because no two stories are exactly alike. The only criteria is that you (or your significant other) terminated a pregnancy that was A. wanted, B. involved a fetal or maternal medical diagnosis.

Why You Should Share Your Story

Somewhere out there, now or in the future, someone in a very dark place will read your words and find comfort and hope even if it is just in knowing she isn’t the first person to go through an experience like this. Often newcomers to our site and support groups tell us the following:

1. They read our stories for hours, soaking up the understanding that they are not alone, that others have been through this, and that they too will survive this heartbreak.

2. Before they had the courage to join a support group, our stories were where they turned for comfort, validation and hope.

You can provide this comfort to grieving parents today and into the future by sharing your story with us.

What You Should Share

Many of the stories here follow a similar path of pregnancy>diagnosis>decision>termination>grief, but no one should feel limited to that familiar narrative. Here are some ideas we’d love for our readers to share:

• Your grief journey and your healing.
• How you dealt with returning to work.
• How this choice impacted your significant relationships whether with your significant other, your siblings, your friends or your parents.
• How have you grown or changed because of ending a wanted pregnancy?
• What do you wish you had known or realized sooner?
• Tell us about your decisions going forward, whether it was to try for another pregnancy, to adopt a child or to set new goals instead of adding to your family.
• What helped you get through the experience? What made it harder for you?
• Write about your subsequent pregnancy or pregnancies, your rainbow baby or babies, adoptions, or your experiences with infertility. Write about how you reached those decisions and how they’ve affected you.
• Write about other paths you’ve taken that you may not have if you hadn’t been through this.
• Share your spiritual or philosophical insights into ending a wanted pregnancy.
• If you shared stories with us in the past,  we’d love an update! How are you doing now? Has your perspective changed?
• Were there restrictive laws in your region or insurance limitations that made it harder for you? Tell us about it.

While we have many stories on the site already, there is always room for fresh voices content. Prenatal tests change, diagnoses and prognoses change, laws that affect our decisions and experiences change. So even if you see many stories related to your or your baby’s diagnosis, send us your story anyway. And if you don’t see any or only a few, please add yours!