Pregnancy loss or miscarriage is one of the hardest thing a woman can go through, whether it’s for the first time or not. Many women often suffer silently, not publicly speaking out about it online or with friends because of strange taboos and a sense of failure.
Chari Pere is a cartoonist and Jewish mom who recently created a short comic about miscarriage, titled “Miscarried.” The comic is based off of her own experience, which she wrote about in a post on her website:
“On May 20th, 2014, I suffered a miscarriage, and lost the baby that had spent almost 11 weeks inside of me.
This weekend marks 3 years since that traumatic day. The time that followed was a difficult one for me. One thing that came to light is how common this experience is. I was very lucky to have had a few close friends who were open about their miscarriages to confide in. However, I was shocked to find out how many of my other friends had suffered through this experience, but did not talk about it. If had known that before, I wouldn’t have felt like such a failure as I was going through it.
I was determined to share my story, in as open and as graphic a way as possible, so that others wouldn’t have to suffer alone… I hope to continue sharing more stories via comics about childbirth, infertility, IVF, stillbirth, and other traumas women bravely endure with silence.”
She went on to add that “it’s 2017. Nobody should be suffering alone.” Women are often told their struggles are trivial, but when we share them with friends, we realize we’re not alone.
As a writer who has created poetry and essays from my own traumas, big and small, I can’t emphasize enough just how important it is to write, make art, or just talk about your feelings with others–publicly or not. It helps you cope in healthy ways and feel more deeply connected to others.
Here are some excerpts of the “miscarried” comic, which you can read in its entirety here:
