Sisters in Loss Podcast: Miscarriage, Pregnancy Loss, & Infertility Stories

Since November 2018 when Michelle Obama released her memoir "Becoming" many fertility centers have seen an increase in treatments amongst blacks including today's sponsor Fertility Centers of Illinois.   I had the pleasure of talking with Torria Driver, the Lead Medical Assistant and Resource Team at Fertility Centers of Illinois.  In today's episode Torria shares her personal IVF journey conceivi...

Happy New Year 2020!  We have entered into a new year, and a new decade.  Another opportunity to live out our purpose for our lives, for our angel babies, and future babies.  It is a time to continue on the journey to healing, restoration, with hope and peace. In today's episode I share my word of the year and a recap of all that was accomplished with Sisters in Loss in 2019 and my goals for 2020...

Merry Christmas to you and your family!  Remembering the Angels today as we celebrate with our family and friends.  To all my moms in waiting God has not forgotten you continue to hold onto hope in 2020! Today's episode is a REWIND episode back to Episode 19 with Tanika Dillard, Grief Specialist, TEDx Speaker, and Author of "Building a Family Breaks my Heart." Tanika Dillard shares her recurrent p...

Have you heard of the term blighted ovum? A blighted ovum happens when a fertilized egg attaches itself to the uterine wall, but the embryo does not develop. Cells develop to form the pregnancy sac, but not the embryo itself. A blighted ovum occurs within the first trimester, often before a woman knows she is pregnant. Today's guest experienced a blighted ovum on her secondary infertility journey....

From middle school to high school to adult hood who knew losing babies would bring friends together. Today's guest is my friend from middle school and high school and her strength sharing her story on Facebook inspired me to share mine. Janelle Jones is a women's ministry leader at her church, singer, and has a testimony to share of overcoming loss, depression, and grief. She gave birth to her son...

Grief during the Holidays is difficult. Imagine losing one twin in utero followed by the loss of the other is what today's guest was faced to overcome. Tiara Nicole found out one of her boy twins Christian passed away on her 25th birthday (after passing 6 weeks prior). She then was faced with the news 3 weeks later that her other twin Christopher had suffered from brain damage. Tiara delivered bot...

Have you heard of Hydrosalpinx? Hydrosalpinx refers to a fallopian tube that's blocked with a watery fluid. To break down the term, "hydro" means water and "salpinx" means Fallopian tube. Today's guest suffered from heavy and painful periods and knew something wasn't right. She and her husband had been trying for over a year and she could not get pregnant. Lauren Shirk sought the help of an OB/GYN...

How do you learn how to build life after loss? Today's guest is doing exactly that learning how to rebuild her life after loss by God's grace. Shalika Bethel is an angel mom to two baby boys due to a incompetent cervix. In this episode she takes us on her journey to motherhood, how she has learned to accept her babies are not here physically, and how she is rebuilding by God's grace. Join BetterHe...

Black women Heal when they are surrounded by other black women. Today's guest truly believes and embodies that motto. Vernetta Stewart, also known as Chef Vernetta is the founder of Footprints of Angels a nonprofit organization aimed to support women impacted by infertility and recurrent miscarriages. This nonprofit organization provides women with support so they can no longer live in silence and...

Can you imagine getting pregnant while on birth control? Today's guest was surprised when she found out she was expecting after having an IUD. Yes, she beat the odds and conceived while on birth control. Jordan Johnson is a United States Naval Officer and moved from DC to CA while pregnant. Two weeks after celebrating her baby shower she ended up in the hospital and the baby did not have a heartbe...

October is here and it is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. Join us all month long as we honor and celebrate our babies who have gone to heaven far too soon. Pregnancy after a miscarriage can be filled with many fears, anxious thoughts, and nervousness that you may lose another baby. Today's guest shares how her faith fueled her desire to continue to try again after her miscarriage. Sheri...

October is here and it is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. Join us all month long as we honor and celebrate our babies who have gone to heaven far too soon. Can you imagine having a doula and midwife, but still experience a stillbirth? Today's guest had that experience. She was healthy, ate right, worked out consistently, and even worked with a midwife and doula at a birthing center thro...

October is here and it is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. Join us all month long as we honor and celebrate our babies who have gone to heaven far too soon. Pregnancy and Infant Loss is not only a United States concern, but its worldwide. Today's guest is from the continent (yes that continent that many think is a country) Africa. She experienced a stillbirth at 32 weeks in her home coun...

October is here and it is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. Join us all month long as we honor and celebrate our babies who have gone to heaven far too soon. Have you heard of male factor infertility? Male Factor infertility can be caused due to low sperm production, abnormal sperm function or blockages that prevent the delivery of sperm. Illnesses, injuries, chronic health problems, life...

Abortion and Elective Termination has always been a topic in the US, with many opposing views. Roe v. Wade was a 1973 landmark decision by the US Supreme Court. The court ruled that a state law that banned abortions (except to save the life of the mother) was unconstitutional. The ruling made abortion legal in many circumstances. With the 2020 presidential election around the corner, states like A...

Abortion and Elective Termination has always been a topic in the US, with many opposing views. Roe v. Wade was a 1973 landmark decision by the US Supreme Court. The court ruled that a state law that banned abortions (except to save the life of the mother) was unconstitutional. The ruling made abortion legal in many circumstances. With the 2020 presidential election around the corner, states like A...

Abortion and Elective Termination has always been a topic in the US, with many opposing views. Roe v. Wade was a 1973 landmark decision by the US Supreme Court. The court ruled that a state law that banned abortions (except to save the life of the mother) was unconstitutional. The ruling made abortion legal in many circumstances. With the 2020 presidential election around the corner, states like A...

Abortion and Elective Termination has always been a topic in the US, with many opposing views. Roe v. Wade was a 1973 landmark decision by the US Supreme Court. The court ruled that a state law that banned abortions (except to save the life of the mother) was unconstitutional. The ruling made abortion legal in many circumstances. With the 2020 presidential election around the corner, states like A...

Imagine at your first doctors appointment being told your baby had fluid around their heart? After being advised to wait until the baby had grown to conduct a full anatomy screening, today's guest was faced with devastating news. Taysha Turman found out at 16 weeks that her baby was diagnosed with hypo-plastic left heart syndrome and a diaphragmatic hernia. The doctors advised her to terminate her...

After being diagnosed at 18 years old with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) today's guest was told she was unable to have children. At 31, Chappy Morgan lost a significant amount of weight and was surprised when she found out she was expecting. During an ultrasound she found out her son was sick and was going to suffer from heart problems specifically congenital heart disease. Chappy shares in t...

Imagine being told that your baby had no fetal heartbeat one month from their due date? Today's guest Tomeka Issac takes us back to that very moment where she and her husband were faced with the news no parent ever wants to hear that her son Jace was not going to make it. Then they were dealt another blow that she was diagnosed with H.E.L.L.P Syndrome (Hemolysis Elevated Liver Enzymes Low Platelet...

Have you ever suffered from painful periods? Today's guest Bria Burrell has always had painful periods, and in 2015 she found out there was an cyst on her left ovarian. Her OB/GYN monitored the cyst for a couple of months, until it started to grow. In order to prevent the cyst from rupturing the OB/GYN performed a laparoscopic procedure in January 2016. The cyst dominated the left part of Bria's p...

Losing your baby and losing your womb and ability to have more children is what today's guest had to face. Alexus Harris Oluyole lost her son Maverick at 21 weeks due to pregnancy complications and had to have a partial hysterectomy to save her life. Alexus Harris Oluyole was devastated as she had to navigate the grief of losing her son and losing her ability to bear more children. God was her anc...

After experiencing three losses today's guest felt ashamed and guilty of her grief as she experienced secondary infertility with already having two children. Jessica Hortman had a spontaneous miscarriage in 2015 at 6 weeks, a miscarriage due to a submucosal fibroid at 10 weeks in 2016, two years years of not getting pregnant, and then finding out she had a fibroid in 50 percent of my uterus. After...

Go shawty its your birthday, we gonna party like its your birthday. Ayeeee! Today is my 34th birthday yall! I'm so excited to celebrate another year around the sun. There is no place I'd rather be than in the guest chair myself talking about Sisters in Loss and the amazing Jesus year I just experienced. I can not put into words what God has done in my life, I can truly say that I'm blessed. I do h...