WWE star Carmella has suffered another pregnancy loss, just one month after having a miscarriage.
On Monday, Carmella (real name Leah Van Dale) shared a photo of herself in a hospital bed.
In the caption, she said, "I've gone back and forth with myself" on whether she should open up about her loss "because I'm not looking for any sort of sympathy."
She decided to share the post as October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month.
"Today, I was treated for an ectopic pregnancy," she wrote. " I never thought something like this would happen to me, especially after suffering from an early miscarriage in September."
An ectopic pregnancy is rare; it occurs when a fertilized egg implants outside of the uterus, sometimes in a fallopian tube. The Mayo Clinic says these pregnancies "can't proceed normally" because "the fertilized egg can't survive, and the growing tissue may cause life-threatening bleeding, if left untreated."
Continued Carmella: "Nothing can prepare you for this news after getting a positive pregnancy test. I was cautiously optimistic this time around after the early loss I had already experienced, but was hoping for the best."
The athlete had already been in the emergency room for 12 hours on Saturday when she "started experiencing some sharp pains on my left side."
"After several tests and ultrasounds," she said, "I was given the devastating news that this was, in fact, an abnormal pregnancy."
She shared that she wanted to tell her story because the experience could be an "isolating" one.
"Why doesn't anyone ever talk about this?" she questioned before praising Iliza Shlesinger for speaking on her miscarriage during her Hot Forever comedy special on Netflix, which Carmella and her husband — professional wrestling commentator Corey Graves — recently watched.
"I immediately burst into tears," Carmella wrote of watching the special. "She went on to explain that we should be speaking more openly about this topic so we, as women, don't blame ourselves and think there's something wrong with us. I want to do the same."
The professional wrestler made it clear she does not want to be considered a "statistic," nor is she "looking for sympathy," she said, adding: "I know I'll eventually recover from all of this mentally, physically and emotionally."
Ending with a message for those who can relate to her grief, Carmella concluded, "For anyone dealing with ANY type of pregnancy loss, I want you to know your feelings and emotions are valid, there is NOTHING wrong with you and you are not alone. ❤️."
Carmella accompanied her post with encouraging quotes on coping with a pregnancy loss.
One read, "Today is hard and I hurt. Allowing yourself to be honest about this is sometimes the most healing thing you can do in your body."
