ABC/Jeff Neira(LOS ANGELES) — Dawson’s Creek alum James Van Der Beek shared an emotional Instagram post describing the painful experience of his wife’s three miscarriages.
“First off — we need a new word for it. ‘Mis-carriage,’ in an insidious way, suggests fault for the mother — as if she dropped something, or failed to ‘carry,'” the actor, 41, wrote over the weekend. “From what I’ve learned, in all but the most obvious, extreme cases, it has nothing to do with anything the mother did or didn’t do. So let’s wipe all blame off the table before we even start.”
The actor suggests, rather than avoiding the grief, to “Let it flow in the waves in which it comes, and allow it it’s rightful space” and “try to recognize the beauty in how you put yourself back together differently than you were before.”
“Many couples become closer than ever before. Many parents realize a deeper desire for a child than ever before. And many, many, many couples go on to have happy, healthy, beautiful babies afterwards (and often very quickly afterwards — you’ve been warned??),” he assured.
Van Der Beek’s post came just days after his wife Kimberly used her Instagram account to talk about her journey to expanding her family.
“Some of you know, I’ve had almost eight and a half years of pregnancy,” she revealed. “I’ve had five babies and three miscarriages in that time. I’ve nursed each child for over a year. Sometimes it’s exhausting. Sometimes it’s heaven.”
She shared her truth because she was what she called “bone tired,” but still grateful for her family and wanted to show others that everyone has rough days.
In addition to Gwendolyn, the Van Der Beeks are also parents to Emilia, Annabel Leah, Joshua and Olivia.
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