Pregnancy Uncut

S7. Ep1. An Impossible 'choice' - When the ultimate act of love is doing the unthinkable

Dr Alex Umbers and Dr Kara Thompson

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 1:05:42

When Alice went for her 20 week morphology scan she had no reason to be nervous. Her pregnancy had been straightforward and included doing all standard testing offered, but a noted anomaly of a small baby was quickly followed by referral to fetal medicine specialists, the discovery of soft markers on ultrasound and, after an amniocentesis, the words that would tip their world on its axis. A diagnosis of a genetic condition incompatible with life.

Alice talks with Kara about the heartbreaking moment that baby Marley was diagnosed and the impossible decisions that followed.

She speaks of her experience not just for herself but to open the door to others, to break the silence that can surround termination for medical reasons - a club that no family wants to be a part of and many find difficulty in speaking about. Her story is unique but it is not isolated and she hopes that speaking on the podcast will encourage others to speak openly and feel less alone.