Actor James Van Der Beek Shares Joy of Daughter's Birth, Pain Parents Suffer After Miscarriage
Actor James Van Der Beek and his wife recently became parents to their fifth child, a baby girl, after suffering three consecutive miscarriages. In an Instagram post, the TV star spoke openly about the pain parents endure following the tragic loss of a preborn baby.
Van Der Beek took to social media last week to reveal that his wife, Kimberly Brook, had suffered three miscarriages before giving birth to their fifth child who was born earlier this month.
He began the emotional post by suggesting that the word "miscarriage" be changed to a word that doesn't begin with "mis" to remove "all blame" from a mother who loses her preborn baby.
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Van Der Beek described how their losses affected them and encouraged other parents to release any guilt they might have felt about losing a preborn baby because it "will tear you open like nothing else."
"It's painful and it's heartbreaking on levels deeper than you may have ever experienced," he wrote. "So don't judge your grief, or try to rationalize your way around it. Let it flow in the waves in which it comes, and allow it its rightful place."
Along with the '90s TV star, country singers Carrie Underwood and Hillary Scott have also been vocal about the tragedy of not carrying a baby to term.
According to the Mayo Clinic, about 20 percent of all pregnancies are not carried to term because of a miscarriage. The statistics noted that the percentage is likely higher "because many miscarriages occur so early in pregnancy that a woman doesn't realize she's pregnant."
In his post, Van Der Beek also urged couples who've experience one or more miscarriages to "become closer than ever before." He said some might even gain "a deeper desire for a child than ever before."
The 41 year old, who along with his wife is a follower of the Kabbalah religion, concluded his post by saying what he believes about babies not being born: "I've heard some amazing metaphysical explanations for them, mostly centering around the idea that these little souls volunteer for this short journey for the benefit of the parents."
