No-One Is Alone

Much to my husband’s chagrin, I am a great fan of Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim. One of my favorite Sondheim shows is “Into the Woods”, and one of my favorite songs from that show is “No-One Is Alone”. The song is sung by several characters who have lost loved ones – a father, a wife, parents, a beloved pet – and are feeling like no-one understands them. But they realize that no matter who you are or what you’re experiencing, someone else is the world is feeling the same way. In this vast universe, no-one is truly alone. And in the vast world of pregnant women, I am often reminded that I am not alone in either my woes or my excitement.

One of the benefits of technology is that even a stay-at-home mom like me can be in constant contact with the outside world. With Facebook, e-mail, and electronic message boards, I can always find a friend (or at least a compassionate stranger) who can sympathize with me, lend a listening ear, or offer some advice. If my morning sickness flares up, there’s always someone around to remind me that it won’t last forever, or to give me suggestions of how they dealt with it. And even more encouraging than that, there’s often a fellow sufferer to whom I can give some words of advice and experience, making me feel like at least my own suffering has helped to alleviate another’s.

There is a special connection between mothers-to-be, a certain kinship and camaraderie. We’re all in the same club, going through the same experiences, having the same doubts and the same fears. Even though every woman experiences pregnancy differently, there is a certain universality in carrying a child inside your body. It’s not something that can be completely understood by anyone except someone else who’s experienced it herself.

So whether I’m churning with eagerness to feel that first flutter of movement or churning with nausea from morning sickness that just won’t go away, I can always find someone who’s feeling the same churning. After all, in this universe, no-one is ever truly alone.