Becoming a mother is far from easy. This Mother’s Day, we want to honour every step of the journey — the good, the bad, and the grief. Ahead, a celebration of all the new selves a woman takes on in becoming a mother.

Meet Galissa—a mother-to-be who’s dealt with both the grief of a miscarriage and now, the joy of a new beginning. For her, her first pregnancy was also her first loss. 

"I was newly married and just started my life with my husband, and we both really wanted it. Going through it was really tough and you really feel alone."

Later on, after trying for some time and almost losing hope, Galissa managed to conceive--In fact, the baby is due on their wedding anniversary--truly a full circle moment. Sure, there was guilt, but she learned that grief, is really just love: Love you want to give, but cannot.

What helped Galissa was speaking up about it with other women - who while they might not be going through the exact same pregnancy loss, provided her the safe space to open up and talk about her struggle without judgment. 

Pregnancy loss is sadly still a stigma today. Yet it is incredibly lonely and isolating to women going through the experience. It is a long, winding journey to end this stigma (if ever), but we hope to at least spark this conversation and let women know that they're not alone.

To other women going through the same,

"Be kind to yourself, and find a support system. There are days when something just triggers you. After opening up about it, I met with a few ladies who went thorugh the same. Know you're not alone."