No Woman Carries Alone

This poem explores pregnancy as an embodied, relational, and political experience built around the double meaning of carrying: the literal, bodily labor of gestation, and the broader physical, emotional, and social weight fatigue, risk, uncertainty, decision-making, caregiving that is too often treated as the pregnant woman’s burden to bear alone. By holding both senses together, the poem argues that if women carry life, the labor of carrying must in turn be carried collectively, by partners, families, healthcare professionals, workplaces, communities, and governments. It challenges narratives that idealize maternal endurance and instead advocates collective care, reproductive justice, informed consent, emotional support, and equitable access to healthcare. Pregnancy is ultimately presented as a shared social responsibility grounded in dignity, autonomy, safety, and compassion.