Dear Mums,
With every post I read I am overcome by a wave of sorrow, loss and longing for a future that should have been: I am deeply touched by your life stories and the stories of your lost babies. But in this turmoil I find an undercurrent of excitement, joy and deep deep love which I feel seeping over me and into me. I?d love to write about the beauty of this emotional roller-coaster but you are all too acquainted with it; it is not my story to tell....
I consider myself too young to be a mum (I am 21); in fact, when I read those posts I was thinking that I view myself first and foremost as a daughter; the daughter of my Best Mummy Ever! This is what my brothers and I nick-named our mum when we were kids and the name has stuck, to be used in special occasions only Sometimes my mum used to ask us (and still does although we all tower well above her now), ?Who?s the Best Mummy Ever?? and we would reply in chorus ?You!? I realize now how much this means to my mum but also what it means to all mums out there... I have no doubt that you are all Best Mummies Ever!
But as I am obviously not a mum, then you must be wondering who I am... I am many things, amongst which: a daughter, a young woman, a friend and a ?student aspiring to be a very holistic, caring and person-centred doctor.?
There are many reasons I chose to do Medicine, but the most important one (you may wonder why I even choose to write this as it should be self-evident), is that I care for people, and I want to help. I completed three years of Medical School then decided that I was going to take a year out, to do something different, so I chose Medical Anthropology.
What is Medical Anthropology?
The difficulty in defining Medical Anthropology is inherent to the discipline as it constantly seeks to describe and challenge unquestioned practices, beliefs and patterns of thought: it is a dynamic discipline, poorly represented by the rigidity of a definition. But I will do my best, and so have provided you with a definition given by the late Cecil Helman,
?Medical Anthropology is about how people in different cultures and social groups explain the causes of ill health, the types of treatment they believe in, and to whom they turn if they do get ill. It is also the study of how these beliefs and practices relate to biological, psychological and social changes in the human organism, in both health and disease.?
So why am I posting on Mumsnet?
I am conducting a small research project for my undergraduate degree dissertation and would like it to be on the experiences of miscarriage. I would be deeply honoured if any mums out there consented to talk to me about their pregnancy losses.
I would like to have a conversation with mums (over a cup of tea or coffee maybe?) and simply be able to hear your story. I will not ask you rude, intrusive questions or submit you to interview-type questioning. I really can?t emphasise enough how much I would like to hear about your experiences, from you point of view, and how they have affected you. If possible, I would like to tape record our conversation(s). This is to enable us to have a proper discussion, not interrupted by my need to take notes. I will transcribe the recordings of the conversations and save them on my personal computer. The audio files will also be held securely. The things you tell me will not be diffused on the internet and will be completely anonymised. I will then use them when I write up my dissertation. My dissertation is simply an end-of-year assignment and the chances of it being published are very small!
Do you have any questions, thoughts, concerns or simply general reactions?!? I am keen to know; please post them on this thread!
If you?re interested in the project, you can drop me an email at [email protected] or post your email address on this thread and I will get in touch with you!
Dear Mums, I am at the beginning of my journey of discovery of motherhood and the long winding road of medicine. It would be an honour for me to take the first steps of that journey with you. Please consider my request
Yveline
[email protected]
ps: I am based in London, so am looking forward to hearing from Mums in London but if you?re not in London and are interested anyway, please do get in touch, we will find an alternative!