Stefanie Preissner has announced the birth of her first child.
The Irish writer, who married her partner Noel Byrne last July, kept her pregnancy private after suffering five miscarriages in the past two years.
In an Instagram post shared on Sunday morning, the 35-year-old wrote: “Almost two weeks ago, Noel and I welcomed our baby daughter Aurora (Rori) into the world. She was early and arrived by emergency c section.”
She continued: “I know I share a lot of myself and my life in my articles, podcasts and on social media so it might seem weird that I said nothing for the last 9 months.”
“🫣This journey has been pretty brutal. We got pregnant first in 2020 and had a second trimester miscarriage. Since then we have had 4 more miscarriages.”
“Part of me wanted to tell people, to reach out for the support that’s always there in this community. But a bigger, wiser part of me knew I wasn’t mentally able for the inevitable stories, advice and opinions that would come with sharing it.”
“People think they’re being reassuring when they say ‘it’ll happen if you relax’ or ‘that happened me/my sister and then she went on to have kids…’. No one can tell the future and many MANY women on who struggle with infertility like me, never ever bring home the child they so desperately want.”
The new mum, who was diagnosed with autism last year, continued: “🫠 I have mixed feelings about sharing the struggle only when it has worked out in a happy ending. I have watched two years of pregnancy announcements and gender reveals and each one punctured me a little bit as I wondered what would happen.”
“I know this post will have the same impact on some readers. And I’m so sorry. I see you and I know the pain and the feeling of hope and fear and rage. I can’t tell you it’ll be ok, but I can say that there is support and you should lean on it.”
“🏥 A huge thanks to my consultant at Holles St, to the fetal medicine midwife who held my hand through every terrifying scan, the recurrent miscarriage clinic who were understanding of all my fears and the perinatal mental health psychologist who saw me as often as I needed and incorporated my autism diagnosis into my care.”
“Being pregnant is an unpredictable, chaotic and sensory whirlwind for every woman but for autistic women, it’s extremely challenging. I wouldn’t have tolerated the pregnancy without their care and support.”
