Hard to Bear

Investigating the science and silence of miscarriage

Isabelle Oderberg

• Publisher: Ultimo Press
• Year: 2023
• ISBN:
  9781761152160
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: General Health

'An unbeatable combination of compassion and courage, help and hope.' – Kaz Cooke, author of Up the Duff and You're Doing it Wrong Every year miscarriage affects up to 150, 000 Australians and the people that love them. So why are we so damned bad at dealing with it? A busy doctor dismissing a patient's physical or mental pain, an emergency department falling far short of adequate care or a friend or family member who has no idea what to say so they say the worst thing of all. Sorrow and loss are compounded each step of the way. In Hard to Bear, journalist Isabelle Oderberg investigates the world's most common pregnancy complication, from the origins of the silence that engulfs it, to the role played by medical misogyny in treatment, and why Reproductive Justice must be at the heart of every solution. Combining in-depth investigative skills with her own lived experience and that of hundreds of others, Oderberg charts a course to improve the system and change the lives of anyone directly or indirectly touched by early pregnancy loss, with practical and generous advice and suggestions along the way. 'Told with love, sass and journalistic rigour, this courageous and compelling book will be a lifeline for so many families whose grief and loss has for too long been unspeakable.' – Jess Hill, author of See What You Made Me Do