Image zoom | Credit: Sarah Oreck, M.D.
In my line of work, I m acutely aware of the realities of a biological clock. I m a reproductive psychiatrist, which means I treat women throughout their reproductive life cycle. One of my primary focuses is pregnancy through postpartum, a developmental period, just like adolescence, called matresence.
But like many other professional women, I delayed childbirth. Then, last year, approaching my mid-30s, my husband and I decided to try to conceive. In January 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic began, I got pregnant.
I was thrilled but I was also apprehensive. I m highly aware of the risks of early pregnancy loss and my medical training has made me more aware of all the things that can go wrong. My first trimester was spent incredibly sick with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), an extreme form of nausea and vomiting during pr