Joan Bremer shared a photo of her miscarriage tattoo to heal, and help others who share her pain.
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A California mom’s photo of the tattoo she got to honor the baby she lost to miscarriage is resonating with parents across the Internet.
“And I got this to remember the baby that wasn’t meant to be,” the caption reads beneath the image of Joan Bremer’s fresh wrist tattoo, which she posted to photo-sharing site Imgur.
As soon as the photo went up, the comments starting pouring in.
“Miscarriages are super, super common. It’s time to end the stigma surrounding them and talk more about it when we talk about reproduction,” one person wrote.
“I’m sorry for your loss, your tattoo is a beautiful tribute to that little life,” reads another comment.
“What an exquisitely beautiful tattoo. I’m sorry for your loss, I’m sorry for all parents who go through this. My heart is with you,” another commenter said.
What Causes Miscarriage
But not everyone liked the idea of a tattoo that will only serve as a constant reminder of the loss.
“My wife had a few. Now that we have kids, I’m glad she doesn’t have a tattoo remembering. Personal opinion,” one dad wrote.
“Dad of at least 1 miscarriage that I know about. It’s beautiful – honest q though: Is a constant reminder of that event helpful?” another comment reads.
Of course any mom who has lost a pregnancy would tell you that you don’t need a tattoo to remind you of what happened. You will always carry that pain with you, whether it’s emblazoned on your body or not.
For her part, Bremer said she shared the image of her tattoo, which she got just days after losing her baby at seven weeks, to help others who may be going through the same pain. “Losing a baby, even if it’s early in pregnancy, is just so difficult,” she said, according to Pop Sugar. “I know there is a certain silence about miscarriages and pregnancy losses, but I am not ashamed that this happened to me. That was one of my motivations for getting the tattoo in the first place—I really think it’s healing to be able to talk about it.”
Meanwhile, the mom says she may add to her body art in the future: “If we are able to carry a baby to term and have a healthy child, I will add a rainbow baby to this design since ‘rainbow babies’ are babies that are conceived after a loss, just like how something beautiful can come after a storm. If I end up having a second miscarriage, I will most likely add another heart to this design.”
What do you think of this tattoo?
Melissa Willets is a writer/blogger and a mom. Follow her on Twitter (@Spitupnsuburbs), where she chronicles her love of exercising and drinking coffee, but never simultaneously.