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Secret diaries of a yacht medic

 The Pregnancy  -The Secret Diaries of a Yacht Medic

November 09, 20233 min read

The Pregnancy

The Secret Diaries of a Yacht Medic

Another real life story…

Mary Lou was 21 and just landed the perfect job, as a deckhand and dive master on an expedition vessle.

The MV was circumnavigating and going to some of the worlds most incredible and remote locations, she was thrilled.

Secret diaries of a yacht medic

It was super busy leading up to the departure, and the boat was going to be very isolated for the next 6 months. So the crew went out to let off steam, and Mary Lou spent the night partying and saying goodbye to her boyfriend.

6 weeks later after numerous deep dives, over 40m Mary Lou realised she had not had her period and was developing swollen breasts.

She had a hunch she was pregnant.

The pregnancy test kit was kept in the medical kit, however it was kept under lock and key and Mary Lou was terrified of the chief stew/medical officer, who she felt was unapproachable.

Another month went by, and Mary Lou kept taking the guests diving, while convinced she was pregnant.

She knew too well that pregnant females should refrain from diving, because the fetus is not protected from decompression problems and is at risk of malformation and gas embolism after decompression disease.

But, she was to scared to talk to anyone about her predicament.

She finally went to the Medical officer and asked if she could access the medical kit, and was told it was for emergencies and guests only and she should have brought her own supplies.

She then asked if she could stop diving for personal reasons, and was abused and told to go and do her job, or she would be sacked and never work again in the industry.

She asked if she could use the phone to call her mum, and was told NO (this was in the days before we had access comms on board while on passage)

So, she kept her secret to herself and went diving.

Mary Lou knew only too well that pregnant females should refrain from diving, because the fetus is not protected from decompression problems and is at risk of malformation and gas embolism after decompression disease.

5 months later, Mary Lou did not need a kit to prove she was pregnant.

When the vessle finally pulled into an island with a hospital and an obstetrician, she snuck off to get a D&C termination, while the rest of the crew went for lunch.

The late stage D&C termination resulted in some complications that meant she could never have children.

Mary Lou kept this a secret for 10 years and never told a soul.

The trauma, grief & guilt weighing her down tremendously.

She knew she should have told someone, but she was very young and very scared.

She asked me to share this story, so no one would ever be in this situation again and feel too scared to approach their team leaders, to discuss their problems & ask for help.

Please make sure your crew feel you are approachable and trustworthy to speak to in a time of crisis, and always have a 24/7 medical service the crew can call in a crisis and professionals you can refer your crew to.

Most of all, be approachable.

Let’s make sure our crew feel seen heard and understood, and that they can come to you when they are in trouble.

Ps. I have full permission to share this story. I only share stories when asked to, to build awareness in yachting. Names, locations and details have been changed to protect ”Mary Lou’s” identity.

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