February 09, 2023 • bachelor insider
Sarah Herron Opens Up About Postpartum Experience After Pregnancy Loss: ‘I Never Prepared for This’
Sharing her story.
Bachelor Nation first met Sarah Herron on Season 17 of “The Bachelor,” and she returned to our screens for Seasons 1 and 3 of “Bachelor in Paradise.”
In September, after many high highs and low lows of her IVF journey, Sarah revealed that she and her fiancé Dylan Brown were finally expecting a baby boy.
Then last week, Sarah took to Instagram to share the tragic news that their baby boy passed away shortly after he was born prematurely at 24 weeks.
Now, Sarah is getting extremely vulnerable with fans and opening up about her postpartum journey after experiencing pregnancy loss.
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
Alongside a mirror photo of her postpartum body in her bathroom, Sarah wrote, “Postpartum after pregnancy loss is still postpartum. I hadn’t gotten to the chapters on perinatal care yet, or lactation support. I jumped from second trimester to fourth trimester overnight. I didn’t know my milk was going to come in. Or that I would need my bathroom stocked with adult diapers, witch hazel and ice packs at 24 weeks pregnant. I haven’t unboxed my breast bump yet, or learned how to hand express my boobs with one hand. But suddenly my days that should be spent sampling belly oils and rubbing my bump are spent taking a crash course in postpartum relief through streaming tears. I don’t want relief, I want my baby.”
She continued on, saying, “Since coming home without Oliver, everything has been a haunting reminder of what was supposed to be, and what I now must face without him here. There is simply no way to prepare yourself for the subtle inconveniences of pregnancy that can suddenly without warning, vanish.”
Sarah shared that the things that were “off limits” during her pregnancy, like alcohol or deli meat, that are suddenly allowed again felt wrong, despite longing for them during pregnancy.
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
The Bachelor Nation star said, “I never prepared for this, and no mother should have to. I understand why no doctor or book briefs you on the possibility of this torture and I don’t have a positive way to wrap this post up. It’s probably the second saddest thing I’ve ever shared. But my wish is that if you have a friend who lets you in on her loss, show up to her bathroom with pads, diapers, and ice packs so that she doesn’t have to figure it out alone. Fill her fridge with broths, casseroles and beverage options so she doesn’t have to think about the mundane yet painful decisions in front of her.”
Sarah asked fans for more suggestions in the comments and her post was quickly flooded with thousands of responses from fellow loss moms.
We are continuing to keep Sarah, Dylan, and their entire family in our thoughts as they mourn the unimaginable loss of Oliver.