An ultrasound technician’s video about what it is like to witness a miscarriage has gone viral. Miscarriage is something that happens to many women, and it is heartbreaking. Despite it being a common occurrence, there is still a sense of shame and silence surrounding the issue, and this needs to end. Women need to feel safe opening up and have their feelings validated, and this should be for pregnancy loss at any stage. When women, medical professionals and others open up about their stories and experiences, it can go a long way to normalizing pregnancy loss and making women feel like they are not alone.
According to Today, an ultrasound technician is going viral for releasing a video on her experience witnessing a miscarriage. Ultrasounds are a routine part of any pregnancy, and the technicians who are doing the ultrasounds are not usually thought about.
However, they are often the first ones to see that a miscarriage has happened. Most of the time, they have to continue a scan and are not allowed to open up to the women. That news has to come from a medical professional. This doesn’t mean that they don’t have stories to tell.
Alicia Gatz has been an ultrasound technician for 10 years, and she posted a video to Facebook after she witnessed a mom lose her baby at 38 weeks pregnant. She stated that she held a mom that day who was “quivering with sadness.” She went on to say that she reassured her numerous times that she did nothing wrong, and this is a feeling that a lot of moms who have lost a baby can relate to. She also said that she had to take a moment to herself and compose herself before she put on smiles to see the next happy mom who came in to find out her baby’s gender.
She received some critique for her comment about the next mom coming in, and some thought that she was implying that the mom’s excitement to find out the gender of her baby was “silly,” considering the mom before had lost her baby. Alicia insisted that she was just trying to explain her experience and how much of an emotional toll this job can take on a person. That her heart is still broken for the previous mom, but she has to put on a smile through it for the next mom. Alicia also gave some insight and said that she usually detects one miscarriage every day and that it never gets easier. She suddenly realizes that this woman in front of her is about to have the worst day of her life. Stories like Alicia’s can put a whole new light on ultrasound technicians and the important role they play.
Sources: Today, Facebook via Alicia Gatz