Mum who lost baby hits out at posters
AN Oylegate mother has criticised the Pro-Life side in the upcoming referendum on the eighth amendment for a ‘lack of sensitivity’ for women who have been through the loss of a child. Mother of three Kerri Stedman lost a baby and almost died after an ectopic pregnancy in December of 2015 and she says that seeing some of the graphic posters containing foetuses invokes memories that are all too painful.
‘I have to leave the village I like in with my eyes cast down,’ she said. ‘Every time I want to go anywhere I cannot look above a certain point. Why? Because some of the images used on these boards are a huge trigger for those of us who have been through losses. They take us right back to the moment we were given the news/taken to theatre. If this campaign had been going on when we went through our ectopic then the journey home would have been excruciating and I’m sure there are women going through that pain right this very second.’
One of the posters which Kerri found upsetting contains a scan picture with the caption: ‘I am nine weeks old. I can yawn and kick. Don’t repeal me.’
‘My baby was eight weeks and one day according to the last scan,’ she said. ‘Every time I see that poster I am taken right back to that moment.’
Kerri says that while she has no problem with campaigning on either side ahead of the upcoming referendum, she believes that some of the imagery used by the pro-life side is a step too far.
‘By all means campaign with facts,’ she said. ‘But do not use photos designed to shock and that could cause irreparable damage to families grieving.’