Parenting Through Grief: "I'm Her Only Mother"
I noticed the unusually somber mood as I waited among the staff of the maternity unit for rounds. After the nurses went through their more typical cases, I learned the reason why. Uncontrolled bleeding had led a young mother, Tanisha, to have an emergency hysterectomy following the birth of her healthy first child. Sunk in despair, she refused all forms of help. She lay curled in her bed, barely acknowledging her daughter. One of the maternity nurses who had recently spent time with me...