Empty Arms

The average length of time it takes New Zealand couples to get pregnant is seven months. When they attempt to conceive, they try not to get their hopes up, understanding that it probably won’t happen in the first month … maybe not even the second … maybe not the third. Despite their best efforts, however, hopes do rise – and they fall dramatically as another month rolls by with no sign of a double line on that test.

It can be an emotional journey, even when things do eventually turn out as planned.

So imagine the emotion involved in never seeing that faint second line, never feeling the surreal excitement that comes with it. Imagine months and months, years and years, of painful fertility treatment. Imagine having the positive test, having a scan, seeing the heartbeat … but then miscarrying the young life inside of you. Imagine carrying your beloved child to full term, then losing him on the day he’s born.

Statistics tell us that many people who’ve just read this paragraph will recognise it as their story. Catherine Sylvester, author of A Common Thread, is one of them.