Anonymous

abortion

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“I have to tell you. I almost had an abortion during this pregnancy”, were the words I confided to my Obstetrician during a routine ultrasound. What I didn’t expect to see, was the look of horror wash over her face, as though I had admitted to some heinous, unforgivable crime. Weeks after giving birth to my first child, I sat on my bathroom floor bawling my eyes out in grief. Grief over the life I felt I was losing, as I clutched yet another positive pregnancy test. I didn’t know how I could take care of another baby. My husband was as overwhelmed as IRead More…

abortion rights

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I was 16. He was 24 and reassured me that he was never a risk to other women, so I should trust him – without a condom, notwithstanding I was mid-cycle. And so I did, letting him “spread my legs” (as some women like referring to) to show me how it’s done. It was over in a few seconds; he was on drugs or alcohol and surely was very disappointed at all the hype about sex but was worth something to write in my diary. After all I was no longer a virgin now. Fast forward two weeks, and now, single, my period was late.Read More…

care and custody

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I have an ongoing court case situation that I have been in for 3 years. The court is taking too long to issue a decree for care and custody in this case. I am a single mother of a 7 year old son. The father, who is a foreigner, has left Malta after our relationship ended and he has not paid attention, showed any interest, or heard the child for the last 4 years. Obviously I have never deprived him from access to the child. Maintenance has never been passed from his end for these last 4 years. The little one had his First HolyRead More…

selective mutism

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As a mother, to help my daughter who is fourteen and has selective mutism, I try to imagine how it feels to live a life in silence; how might it feel to go to a place where I do not know anyone and am not able to ask or answer, even though I do know how to speak and everyone tells me how clever and how bright I am; to hear the words, “don’t ask her, she can’t speak.” It is not true, but I just can’t prove them wrong. Our story started back in kindergarten when the teacher asked if she could visit us,Read More…

life

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People say that life is a wonderful journey, full of lessons, love and friendship. Childhood is supposed to be filled with rainbows, green yards, play, and friends screaming and running after each other. The teenage years are said to be friendship based; you make friends, go out, maybe find the one, do the most important exams you’ll ever face in your life – and pass them. Then comes adulthood, when life seems to start settling down, you find a job, maybe get into a stable relationship, marriage, children, whatever may come – you’re happy. I feel like a liar saying all this. This is notRead More…

depression

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In: Health, Mental Health

I have been wanting to write this article for a while now, but fear of being called ‘overdramatic’ or inappropriate won over me. I also wanted to wait for the right time – a time where I can say that I am clinically diagnosed with depression, something that for some might not seem ‘huge’ or ‘important’. The term depression is used loosely on several occasions, including to explain how sad we are at the moment and how stressed we feel. In the past academic year, a lecturer actually pointed out to us students that by not knowing the answer to her question we would beRead More…

separation

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When one of the conditions to child visits is supervised access, as shown above, it’s quite obvious that something is not right and the court has decided this because it has determined that children need to be protected. Yet the father’s rights to visit the children still takes priority over how the children feel about meeting their father.  I used to take the children myself to visit their dad so as not to create more trauma to my children by sending them with strangers. I only got Appoġġ involved to take the children to the visits when their father started bringing his new partner alongRead More…

single mother

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I am writing this in support of all the women who are going through this situation with me. I had approached Francesca a few months ago regards this situation. It took me a long time to manage to have a definite file with all my expenses as a single mother, so the file I am presenting is 100% correct. I will start with how I ended up a single mother. Well, my ex is a crack head. He is a rich man, owns millions in properties and is a prominent business man. My ex had manipulated the police into calling me and scare me intoRead More…

growing apart

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Growing apart from your partner can sometimes become inevitable, as an anonymous reader explains whilst sharing her own personal experience with us at wham – “Maybe he just doesn’t turn you on anymore…” Let me start with some background information – I was not a virgin when I got married and neither was my husband.  In fact, by that time’s standards, getting married at almost 30 was considered a bit older since the average age of marriage was usually 24 to 25 years. At that time, I considered myself quite knowledgeable about sex – it was good between us.  We were pretty uninhibited and relaxed,Read More…

GBS Awareness Group B Streptococcus Disease

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“I felt mesmerised looking at my newborn baby…little did I know that very soon I was going to receive the shocking news of GBS that turned our world upside down…” I am a mother and trauma survivor; this is my story. On the 3rd December 2019 at 4:05 am sharp my husband and I welcomed our beautiful baby girl. We both felt overjoyed and at the same time surreal, as our little girl arrived 4 weeks prior to her due date. Our Christmas present came earlier that year- little did we know what was in store for our family.  As our baby rested during the dayRead More…