Actress Jaime King opens up about feeling shame after her 5 miscarriages
"I thought that because my womb didn’t work the way I was taught it should work, I was broken"
US actress Jaime King has opened up about her struggles to become a mum.
And she’s touched on something we here at MFM feel isn’t talked about enough: miscarriage, and how it can make you feel about your body.
Now a mum of 2, the 38-year-old Hart Of Dixie star revealed that she’d had 5 miscarriages and an ectopic pregnancy before her 1st son came along.
The result of having endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome.
And, in a new cover interview with Galore, she explained how the relentless infertility led her to feel “ashamed” of her body.
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“I thought that because my womb didn’t work the way I was taught it should work, I was broken,” she admitted.
“We are told as women that our great value is to be able to carry life, to carry a child. If we’re fertile and abundant, we’re a worthy goddess. But for some reason, those parts don’t function for some of us.
“When I was told I couldn’t carry a child, it crushed me in a way that was so much deeper than I could explain.
“I felt ashamed that I was suffering every day. I would wake up in pools of blood, and feel ashamed.
“And then I said, f*** this. I’m not going to be ashamed.”
We’ve gotta say, Jaime’s powerful words hit us like a punch in the chest ?
Experiencing a miscarriage can feel isolating, heart-wrenching, and frustrating, among many other things – but it can, as Jaime’s shared, make you feel shame, like it’s your fault that your body’s ‘not working the way it's supposed to’.
All we can add is that we’re glad she was able to pull herself out of feeling her way.
Because of course it wasn’t her fault, and of course she had absolutely nothing to feel ashamed of.
??
In the same interview, Jaime also revealed her reproductive illnesses caused her to “almost lose” her 2 sons.
She added on Instagram in a powerful short essay: "I had to live through an entire pregnancy where I didn’t know if my child was going to live or die."
Fortunately, her story does have a happy ending. After 5 rounds of IVF and 26 rounds of IUI treatment, she and husband Kyle Newman conceived their first son Jamie, naturally, in 2013. Their 2nd son, Leo, followed in 2015.
We can only hope for anyone in the same position, that they get their much-wanted result, too ?
Share your stories
Did Jaime’s comments about infertility, miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy ring true to you? Perhaps you’ve been through similar things, and want to share how it made you feel?
We know it’s a sensitive topic, but please do share your thoughts on Facebook if you feel comfortable, or join us in the comments below or the MadeForMums forum.
Images: Instagram/Jaime King
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