Finding Hope After Loss

Kelila is the mother to 3 children and was a surrogate twice. With her second surrogate pregnancy, she experienced a loss at 16 weeks. After her loss, she created a pregnancy loss resource and toolkit because she found the resources lacking after her loss.

Sabrina, the TFMR Doula, had a termination for medical reasons after her daughter showed complications not compatible with life. Her experience through the termination process was lacking in compassion and she felt alone. This inspired her to create a community for other loss parents who have had to terminate for medical reasons.

Lindsay struggled with infertility and went through several rounds of failed medicated cycles, with no clear answer as to why she couldn’t get pregnant. She had one living child, followed by the neonatal loss of her son, Gus, due to polycystic kidney disease. Lindsay shares her experience finding out the diagnosis, going through the pregnancy, and the time following her loss.

Monica has experienced a lot of loss in her lifetime, including several family members and a pregnancy loss. Monica discusses how she became more in tune with the spiritual world and started seeing signs. She talks about how you can start to see signs from your baby. Monica has also written three books about how to get signs from your loved ones.

Amy has been through two pregnancy losses including her daughter who was stillborn due to a possible placental abruption and a 14 week miscarriage. Amy shares her journey and how she now helps other women who are going through fertility or pregnancy struggles through her business, Smooth Stones Consulting.

Katy's son was stillborn due to fetal hydrops with no known cause. Katy shares how waiting to deliver him was the right decision for her and talks about what it was like after her loss.

Sarah Jane went through multiple pregnancy losses, unexplained infertility, and a chronic disease that ultimately led to a hysterectomy. She is now childless not by choice. Sarah Jane talks about her journey and how it is important to have self-compassion for ourselves throughout the difficult times. She created Embodied Possibility to help other women through their journey.

Dr. Catherine Darley is a Naturopathic physician who specializes in sleep. Dr. Darley talks about the importance of sleep, especially for women, during all stages of their life, including trying to get pregnant, pregnancy, and after pregnancy. She gives tips and recommendations for how to improve your sleep quality during the various phases of your life. She also experienced three miscarriages during her motherhood journey.

Michelle is a mom of two who experienced post partum depression after her second child was born. Going through PPD made her realize how little care there is for maternal mental health. She now wants to educate others on what to look out for, ways to deal with PPD, and when to ask for help.

Grace had to terminate for medical reasons (TFMR) at 13 weeks due to her baby not being viable. She also has one rainbow baby. She wrote a book called Behind My Smile: A Rainbow Baby Story. Grace is now on a mission to advocate doctors and healthcare providers about the loss and pregnancy after loss experience.

Carmen is the mother of 11 babies, 3 of which are living, and is currently pregnant with her rainbow baby. She went through recurrent losses including missed miscarriage, miscarriage and 2 TFMR. She also wrote a book based on her experiences called A Diary to Our Babies.

Kasia had quite a long journey with infertility and loss. She went through several rounds of IUI and IVF, along with several miscarriages, before being diagnosed with stage 4 endometriosis. She had surgery and was preparing to use a surrogate before doing one final transfer, which resulted in her rainbow baby. Kasia also discusses the importance of advocating for yourself with doctors.

Anusooya is a fertility coach for women who also has a pharmacist background. She dealt with a chronic illness which made her motherhood journey more difficult. She now helps other women who are going through infertility.

Katie spent time working as a registered nurse in L&D and postpartum. She is now a childbirth and nutrition educator. Katie had a miscarriage, chemical pregnancy, and the loss of twins on her journey to motherhood. She has two living children, one of which required a NICU stay.

Alexandra is a death doula that runs a death doula training school. In this episode. Alexandra has a lot to share about grief after loss and the issues surrounding death. Alexandra also discusses dealing with PCOS, endometriosis, eating disorder recovery, and being childless not by choice.

Heather discusses her 38 week stillbirth due to a true knot in the cord. She also talks about dealing with depression after her loss and what that experience was like.

Joanna is a fertility nutritionist. In this episode, she talks about the key things you should be doing nutrition-wise when trying to get pregnant and during pregnancy.

Sarah is a doula who helps support other women during pregnancy and birth. She had a miscarriage with her first pregnancy, followed by the birth of her rainbow baby. Sareh credits her faith to helping her get through the tough times after loss.

Sarah discusses tips on how to get through grief after pregnancy loss during the holiday season. She also talks about the various things you can do to help honor and remember your baby during the holidays.

Mel is a clinical herbalist, environmental educator, mother, wilderness therapist, and podcast host on The Herbalist’s Path. Mel has studied plant medicine for well over 20 years. She shares ways you can use herbs to help with grief and loss, pregnancy, breastfeeding, and more.

Kassandra is a loss mom of 2 and has 1 rainbow baby daughter.  She was diagnosed with PCOS and a uterine abnormality at an early age and told she would never be able to get pregnant.  Kassandra had to TFMR (termination for medical reasons) because her baby Atlas had anencephaly. She talks about her experience going through her losses and how important it is to support TFMR moms.

McKenzie experienced the infant loss of her son, Theo, due to complications from a congenital heart defect.  She discusses her experience after his birth and leading up to his death, along with her experience after her loss.

Ashley struggled with unexplained infertility before finally being able to get pregnant with her twins.  Her journey inspired her to become a holistic fertility coach where she works with yoga, meditation, and other holistic healing.

Kendra went through infertility and had a miscarriage before she was ever diagnosed with PCOS. She had some terrible experiences with doctors during her loss, which led her to take charge of her own health and advocate for herself.

Nicola is the founder of the Instagram account Fat Positive Fertility.  Her mission is to help end the stigma around people who have bigger bodies and help them successfully reach their goal of having a family.  Nicola is the leading voice for fat folks seeking fertility support, bringing a unique fat-positive perspective to her work as a fertility coach and author of the groundbreaking book "Fat and Fertile”.

Nicole shares the experience of going through recurrent pregnancy loss. She has gone through the loss of 7 different babies throughout her journey to become a mother.  She adopted 2 girls and has written a book about her entire experience.

Michelle went through infertility, including multiple rounds of IUI and IVF, and experienced a miscarriage and the neonatal loss of her daughter, Her daughter was born early due to Michelle having pre-eclampsia.  Ultimately, she used a surrogate and had her living child.  She was also inspired to create a non-profit, the Collette Louise Tisdahl Foundation, in honor of her daughter. 

2023 Wave of Light reading of names. Join me in honoring my daughter, Jasmine Grace, along with 1,569 other babies who are gone too soon.

Elizabeth lost her son, Teddy, after her water broke prematurely. She discusses what it was like to never get an answer to why she lost him. She was inspired to create a non-profit in his honor and now sends out bear ornaments to other loss families.

Four women who have been through loss share their pregnancy loss stories. Each one has experienced the heartbreak of losing a baby. They all share their experience participating in Project Finding Your Rainbow and the power of sharing their stories.

Annie discusses the experience of going through three recurrent miscarriages. She also talks about dealing with doctors who do not listen to your concerns and how she learned to advocate for herself.

Tanya and Ken discuss the loss of their daughter, Riley, due to a cord accident. This inspired them to create the non-profit Riley's Resources. The non-profit provides comfort boxes and resources to families going through pregnancy and infant loss.

Natalia lost her son 12 hours after he was born. She is a citizen of the world, traveler and expat, yoga & meditation teacher and writer. Natalia discusses the impact her loss had and how she began her healing journey.

Zipporah lost her son shortly after his birth at 32 weeks due to anencephaly. She discusses learning about the diagnosis, the pregnancy, and the time after his birth and death.

Caryn discusses going through infertility, including 17 fertility treatments. She also talks about her 5 miscarriages, including one that was ectopic, and the child loss of one of her twins. Caryn is now a fertility coach who helps other women navigating through infertility and loss.

Rachel is the founder of Hope Again Collective. She shares about her miscarriage and how it inspired her to create her jewelry. She hopes the jewelry will serve as a tangible reminder to those who do not have anything tangible to represent their baby.

Michelle went through infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss during her motherhood journey. She now has one living child and is hopeful to have her rainbow baby one day soon. Michelle talks about how she uses humor to get through the tough times.

La'Vista went through infertility and 3 recurrent miscarriages during her motherhood journey. She also discusses the lack of compassion that so many providers have towards families going through loss.

Katelyn had a miscarriage followed by a termination for medical reasons (TFMR) due to a severe form of spina bifida. She had very limited time in which to make this decision after finding out the severity of her diagnosis. All of her options were a losing situation. She wants everyone to understand that this was a very wanted baby.

Amanda is a life coach who experienced the neonatal loss of her daughter, Faith, at 26 days old. The loss was due to complications from a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). Amanda says faith is what got her through the loss.

Megan is a grief coach that helps others learn how to navigate grief after pregnancy loss. Her daughter, Aria, died at 15 months old due to Sudden Unexplained Death in a Child (SUDC).

Dr. Heather Browne PsyD, LMFT helps people recognize the power of communication. In this episode, she discusses how to have effective communication while going through grief after miscarriage and other pregnancy loss.

Season 2 of the podcast returns on July 19. This season will cover more stories about infertility and loss from the families that have gone through it. There will also be discussions about issues surrounding infertility and loss, parenting after loss, pregnancy after loss, and trying to conceive after loss.

Holly is a four time egg donor. She discusses the process she went through and what the experience was like. Holly also talks about the importance of self-care for women.

Robin had to make the decision to terminate her pregnancy for medical reasons (TFMR) due to the baby having a giant omphalocele. She talks about the stigma surrounding having to terminate a pregnancy.

Dr. Katie Wood is a pharmacist and integrative fertility coach. She talks about her journey with infertility and how she used non-pharmaceutical options. She now helps other women navigate infertility.

Sandy lost her son, Harrison, due to a placental abruption. He had spina bifida and 22q deletion. She also had an early pregnancy loss. Sandy discusses the importance of finding a good support system after loss.

Melissa lost her son due to having severe pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome.  She underwent gastric bypass surgery and lost a lot of weight.  She was then able to get pregnant and have her rainbow baby.  She talks about dealing with hating your body and dealing with jealousy towards others who are easily able to get pregnant.

Saturday, March 11 is my daughter, Jasmine's 5th birthday.  We lost her at 32 weeks when she was stillborn.  She had a congenital diaphragmatic hernia and mosaic trisomy 15.  Help me remember her on her birthday.