Content Warning: This episode discusses stillbirth, infant loss, and termination for medical reasons. Please proceed with care.

After falling pregnant on their first time trying into their marriage, Darci and her husband were overjoyed to be expecting their first child—the first grandchild for both sets of parents. But what began as an uncomplicated pregnancy quickly transformed into a medical emergency when Darci's blood pressure reached dangerously high levels, requiring multiple hospital admissions and constant monitoring.

In today's profoundly moving episode, Darci courageously shares the devastating moment at 21 weeks when doctors discovered her baby was measuring the size of an 11-week foetus. Faced with an impossible choice, she and her husband made the heartbreaking decision to terminate for medical reasons and elected to be induced and proceed with the birth.

She shares Dylan's story not just as a tribute to her son, but as a lifeline for other bereaved parents who may feel alone in their grief—because these babies were loved, their lives had meaning, and their stories deserve to be told.

If you have been affected by any of the content in this episode, here are some resources, including Bears of Hope—an organisation that greatly helped Darci.

Bears of Hope

Stillbirth Foundation Australia Resources

Beyond Blue.

Diary Of A Birth features mums sharing their heartfelt stories of bringing life into the world. Share your birth story at podcast@mamamia.com.au or send a voice note here.

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CREDITS:

Host: Ksenija Lukich

Birth Story: Darci Crocker

Producers: Ksenija Lukich & Ella Maitland

Audio Producer: Tina Matolov

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

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The Silence After Loss: The Isolation Of Stillbirth