Just about every woman who has experienced a pregnancy has faced at least one moment of uncertainty. I remember mine like it was yesterday. My pregnancy was labeled “high risk,” so in addition to regular check-ups, I also had appointments with a high-risk doctor. During one of those appointments, he had been very chatty, pointing out all the things he could see on the ultrasound.
Then the room fell silent.
I froze, too scared to ask questions, because I was too afraid to know. That’s when he pulled a pen out of his coat pocket, clicked it, and started writing.
The silence probably only lasted a minute, but it felt like an eternity.
Eventually, the doctor filled the void by explaining his concern with the ultrasound. While it required seeing a specialist after my daughter was born, it was nowhere near the kind of heart-breaking news women hear in doctors’ offices every day.
In that moment, I was relieved. With that relief came an even greater sense of empathy, because for the first time, I faced the question of what might have happened if the news had been worse. As my mind filled with what-ifs, I knew one thing for sure, the decision about next steps belonged to the people in that room – not politicians in Frankfort or Washington, DC.