Support groups for trauma survivors, counseling services, legal advocacy if you need it. You don’t have to navigate this alone. The irony struck me that strangers were offering more genuine care than my own parents had provided in three decades. Daniel thanked her and set the folder aside, focusing entirely on helping me through each contraction.
His steady coaching, the way he never left my side despite the hours stretching on, showed me what real partnership looked like. My parents’ marriage had been built on control and compliance. Ours was built on mutual respect and protection. When the pushing stage began, fear overwhelmed me. Clare was so small, so vulnerable, coming into the world under traumatic circumstances.
What if the fall had caused injuries the doctors couldn’t see? What if she struggled to survive outside the womb at this early stage? The whatifs multiplied faster than I could process them. “She’s strong like you,” Daniel kept repeating, his voice cutting through my panic. “She’s a fighter. You both are.
