S2 Ep 16: Our Family's Fabric: The Patient Perspective with Dr. Alice Zheng

**TRIGGER WARNING: ** Abortion and Fetal Anomaly

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“The best advice someone gave to me was to be kind to yourself. Make the decision with your partner. Make a decision together, and then forgive yourself for that decision.” — Alice Zheng

In Our Family's Fabric: The Patient Perspective, Alice Zheng (she/her) at RH Capital speaks about her unique perspective on abortion, drawn from her experience personally and as a clinician. She shares her late-stage abortion experience (close to 24 weeks) after discovering her child had congenital birth defects.

We celebrate you dictating life on your terms this month and every month. You and your lived experiences are enough. Join us for this eye-opening first-hand account filled with powerful practical insights for clinicians and those grappling with baby loss!

Key Points From This Episode:

• An introduction to today’s guest, Alice Zheng.

• Her personal experience with abortion and women’s health in a clinical context.

• The story of her terminated pregnancy as a result of a failed embryo transfer.

• Details of the decision-making process following the potential diagnosis of a brain condition.

• How Alice’s medical training affected her experience.

• Recognizing the privilege of support.

• Alice’s partner’s role in the decision-making process.

• What it was like to experience loss for the first time for Alice and her partner.

• The added layer of complexity to the decision due to the condition’s compatibility with life.

• What Alice considers the best piece of advice she received: be kind to yourself.

• The turbulent days leading up to making a final decision.

• Choosing between two procedure options.

• Discovering the lack of clinic options for late-term termination.

• Alice and her partner’s experience leading up to the procedure and thereafter.

• How her medical training empowered her process.

• What surprised her about the process as a practitioner.

• Why her clinical knowledge was largely irrelevant to her emotional processing.

• How the Chinese cultural concept of postpartum recovery applies to losses and terminations.

• Recovering from the process.

• The challenge of being with friends having pregnancies and babies.

• The advice she received to have an ambassador to advocate socially on her behalf.

• Long and short-term grief.

• Why she chose to give her baby a name.

• The power of sharing your experience with others.

• Resources such as Ending a Wanted Pregnancy where Alice found support.

• How the support of a grief counselor helped.

• Successful pregnancies following the loss of Aiden.

• The analogy of grief as a ball of yarn in a growing box.

• How her personal experience has influenced her work in women’s health.

• Summarizing her journey.

• Thoughts on healing and grief.

• A reminder for listeners who can relate: you are not alone.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Follow Alice Zheng: LinkedIn: Alice Zheng

RH Capital Ending a Wanted Pregnancy

Dr. Pascale Vermont

Surviving the Unimaginable

The Vagina Monologues

IG: @ps_blossom

Twitter: @PS_Blossom
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