Maya Vander shares stillbirth experience: How celebrities dealt with and aided people to overcome miscarriage or stillbirth trauma
by Jaskiran Kaur | Sat, 11 Dec 2021 16:22:32 GMT
Image Source: Daily Advent, New York Times

Most of the mothers feel better about their pregnancy and the associated fears once they have passed the first trimester of their gestation period. Most miscarriages happen in the first three months of the pregnancy, and only when doctors give an all-clear of a happy, healthy baby growing do mothers feel okay.

Unfortunately, not all pregnancies are the same, and sometimes the most unexpected of childbirth complications happen to the healthiest of mothers out there. Maya Vander from Selling Sunsets is one such celebrity mother who dealt with the shorter end of the stick with her otherwise uneventful pregnancy. 

Maya Vander delivered her stillborn son this year on December 9, shocking her and her family in the process. The star is utterly heartbroken over the painful stillbirth experience, and her family is taking the brunt of the impact. 

“My family is devastated,” shared the star on December 10, a day after stillbirth delivery. Sharing how her husband is badly coping with the news, but she is trying to stay strong for the sake of her family, she revealed, “My baby due date was right around Christmas. This is the best time of the year to celebrate. … My husband is heartbroken, and I know I need to be strong for him and for our family.”

The actress, aged 39, is still finding a ray of hope in her two 'beautiful' children: son Aiden, aged 2, and daughter Elle, 18 months, and is 'thankful' for them. Needless to say, nothing can yet “ease pain,” but Maya is set on seeing the good in things and will continue to heal herself. Vander also added, “Time will help, but I experienced a loss in a very late stage. I lost a son, and the pain will always be there.”

Notably, Maya Vander's entire pregnancy went like a breeze, and there was nothing the problem, ever. The family is not sure why the healthy and fine baby met with the untimely fate. and have sent the child's body for "autopsy to see if there is anything telling.” 

The Israeli native added, “No one knows yet. At this point of the pregnancy, I have a weekly check-up. I felt less movement a few days prior. I went to a private ultrasound check. and everything was fine and looked normal. … I delivered a normal baby that looked like he was sleeping. This will chase me forever.”

Maya is far from the only celebrity who had to put up with this dire turn of events and trauma that would ensue seeing her beautiful baby not take even a single breath. Many other celebrities have shared their heartbreak over their miscarriages and stillbirths as a beacon of light for all other grieving mothers to let them know that things will not always be this sad. 

Last year in December, Duchess of Suxxes, Meghan Markle, opened about her miscarriage and the horrendous trauma it brought along. The Duchess was expecting her second child at the time and was with her son, Archie. Recalling the experience and the sudden horror that dawned on her, she said, “After changing his diaper, I felt a sharp cramp. I dropped to the floor with him in my arms, humming a lullaby to keep us both calm, the cheerful tune a stark contrast to my sense that something was not right. I knew as I clutched my firstborn child that I was losing my second."

The Duchess pointed out how so many other mothers go through the same loss and how the journey to healing is not easy. Prince Harry himself was very devastated over the news, but Meghan took a step towards healing. She recalled, “Sitting in a hospital bed, watching my husband’s heartbreak as he tried to hold the shattered pieces of mine, I realized that the only way to begin to heal is to first ask, “Are you OK?”

View this post on Instagram

Carrie Underwood also opened about her very underwhelming experience saying, "I’d kind of planned that 2017 was, you know, going to be the year that I work on new music, and I have a baby. We got pregnant in early 2017, and it didn’t work out." Her three consecutive miscarriages totally shattered as she broke down and said, “Why on earth do I keep getting pregnant if I can’t have a kid? Like what is this? Either shut the door or let me have a kid.”

Maya Vander shared a similar thought marking how the day of her birth was the  “hardest day” of her life. Echoing the sentiment of every expecting mother who never imagined they would lose their child, the star said, “I had a stillbirth at 38 weeks. I always heard of it but never imagined I’ll be part of the statistics. Instead of delivering a baby, I get to go home with a memory box. I do not wish this on anyone. What was a regular weekly checkup turned into a nightmare that I never imagine will happen to me."

As the star's pregnancy was public and soon fans would pour in a talk about her imminent delivery, Maya decided to let them in on the heartbreaking news to spare herself more pain. She revealed, "Given I share my pregnancies in the show I knew I’ll have to post about this and avoid the ‘when is your due date’ question. You will always be in our heart baby Mason."

Only a week earlier, the star had gushed about her pregnancy saying she got "No crazy symptoms. I got very lucky.”

Carrie Underwood revealed she was utterly broken after three miscarriages; Credits: Hello Magazine

About 11-22% of expecting mothers experience miscarriage in their first trimester. The reasons are not always clear, but the experience always ends in heartache. However, a little bit of help, hope, and love from family members can go a long way to push away the gloom for broken families and help them see the light at the end of the tunnel."

RELATED ARTICLES