By Karen Bostock Estepa

Dear Sister In Loss,

You were seeking help for continuous bleeding after your abortion. You called my friend to get an appointment, but she had no room in her schedule that week so she called me. I just reopened my practice after the loss of my own newborn and had some room in my schedule. She asked if I could work with you. I had to think long and hard about that. Could I express compassion and love for someone who chose to have an abortion when my own loss was still so new? 

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by: Karen Bostock Estepa

The emotions that go along with being a mommy are intense! They may be especially so this morning because I’ve been up since 3 AM and was breastfeeding my growing baby all night before that. It could also be because we have two very special days in our family this month, one of them being the 4th anniversary of Kalis’ birth.
 
So many thoughts have been running through my head. As my sweet baby’s body curls into mine, I think of what I have and what I can no longer hold.

by: Karen Bostock Estepa

A gut-wrenching, heartbreaking story came up on my Facebook feed the other day. The title said the newborn baby died from starvation (though, more likely, the baby died from dehydration).
 
The baby was born at a baby-friendly hospital. Which means that the mom was encouraged to breastfeed, she was probably visited in the hospital by someone who had extra breastfeeding education, and the baby was probably not offered a bottle.