Abstract
Between one in four and one in twenty-five known pregnancies end in miscarriage. In religious traditions and societies, which tend to celebrate the birth of a child and have few if any rituals for miscarriages, those who suffer a miscarriage often find themselves alone. This chapter explores the Nahua image of a tree with many breasts as an entryway to the topic of often silenced and forcibly forgotten miscarriages. This image of the tree of many breasts challenges notions of motherhood beyond those women who have an actual physical child to hold or whom they have held. It draws from these indigenous cosmologies a symbol which holds a space and place of nurturing, care, and community for those who have suffered a miscarriage.
The spots on my body remain
and remind me of you every day.
Your time within me was only a matter of weeks.
I am grateful for the All of Everything
that shared you with me for a short-time.
While our story ended too soon and very abruptly,
the spots on my body remain.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
I use USA or United States of America rather than US or United States because Mexico is also a country of United States.
- 2.
The author requests that no part of this article be used in abortion debates. This author is not taking a stance on the matter of abortion but is discussing miscarriages and stillbirths. The author considers abortion a separate matter with its own particularities. For the sake of care of those who have lived a miscarriage and/or stillbirth, please to not politicize these events to support a side of the abortion debate.
- 3.
Stephen H. Webb, “Response to L. Serene Jones ‘Hope Deferred’,” Modern Theology. 17:4 (2001): 509–511. Accessed March 26, 2016, doi: 10.1111/1468-0025.00170.
- 4.
For an in depth discussion on this matter as well as a feminist critique of feminist scholarship’s lacuna on this topic, see Susan Bigelow Reynolds.
- 5.
Susan Bigelow Reynolds, “From the Site of the Empty Tomb: Approaching the Hidden Grief of Prenatal Loss,” New Theology Review 28:2 (2016): 51, accessed May 25, 2016, doi: 10.17688/ntr.v28i2.1171.
- 6.
Paula Van, “Breaking the Silence of African American Women: Healing after Pregnancy Loss,” Health Care for Women International 22 (2001): 230, accessed March 25, 2016, doi: 10.1080/07399330120995.
- 7.
Kimberly Crawford Kohl, “Remembering Your Faith through the Grief: Experiencing a Miscarriage,” The Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling 66 (2012): 1, accessed March 25, 2016, doi: 10.1177/154230501206600108.
- 8.
Mary Stimming, “Hope Deferred: Theological Reflections on Infertility, Miscarriage, and Stillbirth,” in Religion, Death and Dying, ed. Lucy Bregman (Santa Barbara: Praeger Perspectives, 2010), 30.
- 9.
Ibid., 33.
- 10.
Ibid., 30.
- 11.
F.S. Cowchock, J.N. Lasker, L.J. Toedter, S.A. Skumanich, and H.G. Koenig, “Religious Beliefs Affect Grieving After Pregnancy Loss,” Journal of Religion & Health 49 (2010): 495, accessed March 25, 2016, doi: 10.1007/s10943-009-9277-3.
- 12.
Katherine Gold, Ananda Sen, and Rodney A. Hayward, “Marriage and Cohabitation Outcomes after Pregnancy Loss,” Pediatrics 125:5 (2010): e1202–e1207, accessed May 16, 2016, doi: 10.1542/peds.2009-3081.
- 13.
F.S. Cowchock, S.E. Ellestad, K.G. Meador, H.G. Koenig, E.G. Hooten, and G. K. Swamy, “Religiosity is an Important Part of Coping with Grief in Pregnancy after a Traumatic Second Trimester Loss,” Journal of Religion & Health 50 (2011): 908, accessed March 25, 2016, doi: 10.1007/s10943-011-9528-y.
- 14.
For more see Sefton, Marlene G.S. “The Long-Term Effects of an Early Miscarriage for Latina Adolescents” Hispanic Health Care International 1 (2002), 71–80; and Shannon Leach, MN, ARNP, FNP, Danuta M. Wojnar, Ph.D., RN, MED, IBCLC and Maria Pettinato, Ph.D., RN. “Lived Experience of Miscarriage for Nine Latina Immigrant Women” Journal of Theory Construction and Testing 18 (2014): 11–16.
- 15.
Shahram Etemadifar, Razie Sadat Hosseiny, Akram Ziraki, Atefeh Omrani, and Masoome Alijanpoor, “The Relationship Between Spiritual Well-Being and Life Satisfaction in Infertile Women” Women’s Health Bulletin (2016) 5, accessed July 11, 2016, doi: 10.17795/whb-32344.
- 16.
Susan Bigelow Reynolds. “From the Site of the Empty Tomb: Approaching the Hidden Grief of Prenatal Loss,” New Theology Review 28:2 (2016): 47, accessed May 25, 2016, doi: 10.17688/ntr.v28i2.1171.
- 17.
Ibid., 49.
- 18.
Ibid., 51.
- 19.
Ibid., 57.
- 20.
These are the people who inhabited Mesoamerica during the Postclassic period.
- 21.
Patrizia Granziera, “The Worship of Mary in Mexico: Sacred Trees, Christian Crosses, and the Body of the Goddess”, Toronto Journal of Theology 28:1 (2010): 43, accessed June 3, 2013, doi: 10.3138/tjt.28.1.43.
- 22.
Ibid., 47.
- 23.
Ibid., 44.
- 24.
My translation.
- 25.
Bernardo Sahagún 1540–1585, Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España (Mexico, D.F.: Editorial Pedro Robredo, 1938), 142.
- 26.
Patrizia Granziera, “The Worship of Mary in Mexico,” 43–44.
- 27.
Ibid., 52.
- 28.
Ibid.
References
Cowchock, F.S., Ellestad, S.E., Meador, K.G., Koenig, H.G., Hooten, E.G., and Swamy, G.K. “Religiosity is an Important Part of Coping with Grief in Pregnancy After a Traumatic Second Trimester Loss.” Journal of Religion & Health (2011): 901–910. doi:10.1007/s10943-011-9528-y.
Cowchock, F.S., Lasker, J.N., Toedter, L.J., Skumanich, S.A., and Koenig, H.G. “Religious Beliefs Affect Grieving After Pregnancy Loss.” Journal of Religion & Health (2010): 485–497. doi:10.1007/s10943-009-9277-3.
Crawford Kohl, Kimberly. “Remembering Your Faith Through the Grief: Experiencing a Miscarriage.” The Journal of Pastoral Care adn Counseling 66 (2012): 1–2. doi:10.1177/154230501206600108.
Etemadifar, Shahram, Razie Sadat Hosseiny, Akram Ziraki, Atefeh Omrani, and Masoome Alijanpoor. “The Relationship Between Spiritual Well-Being and Life Satisfaction in Infertile Women.” Women’s Health Bulletin (2016): 1–6. doi:10.17795/whb-32344.
Gold, Katherine, Ananda Sen, and Rodney A. Hayward. “Marriage and Cohabitation Outcomes After Pregnancy Loss.” Pediatrics 125, no. 5 (2010): e1202–e1207. doi:10.1542/peds.2009-3081.
Granziera, Patrizia. “The Worship of Mary in Mexico: Sacred Trees, Christian Crosses, and the Body of the Goddess.” Toronto Journal of Theology (2012): 43–60. doi:10.3138/tjt.28.1.43.
Reynolds, Susan Bigelow. “From the Site of the Empty Tomb: Approaching the Hidden Grief of Prenatal Loss.” New Theology Review (2016): 47–59. doi:10.17688/ntr.v28i2.1171.
Sahagún, Bernardo 1540 to 1585. Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España. Mexico, D.F.: Editorial Pedro Robredo, 1938.
Stimming, Mary. “Hope Deferred: Theological Reflections on Infertitlity, Miscarriage, and Stillbirth.” In Religion, Death, and Dying, edited by Lucy Bregman, 29–49. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger Perspectives, 2010.
Van, Paula. “Breaking the Silence of African American Women: Healing After Pregnancy Loss.” Health Care for Women International (2001): 229–243. doi:10.1080/07399330120995.
Webb, Stephen H. “Response to L. Serene Jones “Hope Deferred”.” Modern Theology (2001): 509–511. doi:10.1111/1468-0025.00170.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
De Anda, N. (2017). Miscarriage Matters, Stillbirth’s Significance, and the Tree of Many Breasts. In: Bischoff, C., O’Donnell Gandolfo, E., Hardison-Moody, A. (eds) Parenting as Spiritual Practice and Source for Theology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59653-2_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59653-2_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-59652-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-59653-2
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)