Trigger warning: pregnancy loss and miscarriage

Pregnancy losses in the first trimester of a pregnancy are so common, yet for some reason are taboo to talk about on a personal level. I’m sharing my story of losing my first pregnancy with all of our readers in this podcast episode to start the conversation that so many women and couples need to cope and heal from their own losses.

I’d like to share the hadith I hung onto as I struggled the most with my miscarriage, which is also discussed at the 8-minute mark in the video below:

“By the One in Whose Hand is my soul! The miscarried fetus will drag his mother by his umbilical cord to Paradise, if she (was patient and) sought reward (for her loss)” [Sunan Ibn Majah 1609]

Mother’s Day is here in America and there are flowers and cards and adorable pictures of families celebrating their mothers. I’m not here to comment on the debate about whether or not Mother’s Day is haram or ridiculous because “every day should be Mother’s Day!” All I want to say to those invisible mothers out there–mothers who felt what it was like to carry a life inside of them but that was all that they enjoyed of their short-lived pregnancies–is:

I see you.  I was right there with you at one point in my life. You don’t have to suffer in silence if you need community to support you. And lastly, your child loves you and is waiting for you.

Related Readings on Miscarriage and Pregnancy Loss:

My Miscarriage And Healing Afterwards

It’s Not Mother’s or Father’s Day but… Imam Omar Suleiman

When Children Die: On Tragedy, and What is Reported about the Death of Believing Children

Don’t Give Up On That “Unanswered” Prayer

Six Stories Down: When It’s More Than Just The Baby Blues