Even before I’d touched my newborn, the surgeon asked, “Are you planning to have more children?” Common question, strange timing. Occupying a liminal space, I hesitated. “Your placenta grew into your uterus. If you want me to save it, I need to know now.” My partner and I had discussed having only one child, but had we fully decided? I stammered, “Maybe? Yes?” Her daring feat in those moments meant I surrendered only one organ: the transitional, aggressive one. I never took my uterus up on its offer, but the surgeon spared me the singular grief of that noisy “could.”
Caitlin Gorman teaches writing to middle and high school students. In her writing and everyday life, she ponders the personal politics of parenting and partnering. Bluesky: @caitlinjgorman.bsky.social