AnneMarie Grech to lead support NGO for women suffering fertility challenges

Teacher AnneMarie Grech, wife of Opposition leader Bernard Grech, will chair over Light, a support NGO that assists individuals facing fertility challenges and miscarriages.

While becoming a parent, a mother or a father, might mean a lot to some, for others dealing with infertility or miscarriages, it can be tinged with extreme suffering, significant loss, or grief, Grech stated when launching Light on Saturday morning.

The organisation's goal is to provide emotional support and assistance to such couples.

"Contrary to popular belief, becoming pregnant and raising a child is not simple for everyone. No one has a magic wand to ensure they are fertile at the correct moment and become pregnant," Grech noted. 

She said that the sentiments around infertility and pregnancy loss are intimate, sensitive, and frequently confusing, and shock often leaves many parents doubting themselves. 

When speaking to the new members, she emphasised how this grief is rarely spoken about and handled, frequently due to stigma.

President AnneMarie Grech with General Secretary Josephine Xuereb (right), Treasurer MarieClaire and PR Officer Michela Dalli (left to right)

"Light represents hope, positivity and guidance. When it appears gloomy, light reveals to you a path. We can light these times together where aid, bravery, or simply a kind word is needed," Grech added. 

The concept for this NGO came from Josephine Xuereb, who had been working with couples experiencing infertility and losses for a few years. 

Xuereb saw the need for a support group and began the planning after consulting with AnneMarie Grech.        

Grech’s husband, Bernard Grech, has put the Nationalist Party firmly at odds with laws that propose reproductive rights for women in Malta.

The PN is currently opposing amending Malta’s blanket ban on abortions if it can safeguard women against a threat to their lives or health. And in 2018, the PN had first opposed a reform that would ‘permit embryo freezing’, only to later concede that those amendments were indeed necessary, before revising its position.