Confessions of a Grieving Mother

Listen as Shannon shares Charles and Benedictus with us, two different pregnancy's that both ended in loss. Charlie, was Shanon and her husband Justin's eighth child. Shannon's pregnancy with Charlie was unlike the rest of her earlier pregnancies. She had experienced heavy bleeding at 6 weeks gestation and was told she was most likely miscarrying. She waited for signs of miscarriage an...

Listen as Tracy and Julie chat with Amanda Berk, Emma's Footprints Director of Bereavement about our mission. They touch on who we are, what we do and how you can support a loved one going through a pregnancy or infant loss. To learn more, visit emmasfootprints.com

Listen as Emily shares the loss of her daughter Isabel. Emily and her husband, Kyle, got pregnant right away before they were even officially trying to get pregnant. She shares that her pregnancy was very smooth until she was just shy of 23 weeks and didn't feel Isabel move all day. She went to triage and they gave her the devastating news that they could not find a heartbeat. At 23 weeks gest...

Listen as Lindsay shares her sweet Suvi with us. Lindsay shares she had a textbook pregnancy and really bonded with Suvi even before she was born. At 40 weeks gestation, Suvi had decreased movements. Lindsay went to the hospital where she was rushed into an emergency c-section because of Suvi's low heart rate. When she woke from surgery, Lindsay and her husband Travis, were told Suvi had a sev...

Listen as Julie shares her son Evan with us. Julie did not know she was pregnant until she went into labor at a MedExpress. Since she had never had any pregnancy symptoms and no prior prenatal care, doctors estimated she was around 30-32 weeks when she went into labor. After arriving at the hospital, Evan was was diagnosed with HLHS, a rare genetic condition in which the left side of the heart is...

Listen as Taylor shares her experience of abruptly and unexpectedly losing her son, Stetson at 19 weeks gestation. She shares that she didn't realize she was in labor and losing him until it was happening. Her doctors, testing and specialist deemed her loss due to cervical insufficiency. Grateful to have answers, her and her husband, were hopeful when they got pregnant 5 months later with thei...

Listen as Kirsten shares Theo with us. Kirsten and her husband are high school sweethearts and knew they wanted to grow a family and were excited when they found out they were expecting. She was 7 weeks gestation when she began bleeding. She was instructed to head to the ER for monitoring and a checkup. After more severe cramping and bleeding she lost her baby. Kirsten shares that day she not only...

Listen as Stephanie shares her daughter Josie with listeners. She had two healthy pregnancy and deliveries after getting married in 2014. Then with her third pregnancy she experienced an early-term miscarriage. After experiencing that loss, she got pregnant right away with her daughter Josie. Her pregnancy was smooth until she started to experience less and less movement. At an appointment when sh...

When a rainbow baby is expected, the grief journey changes. Each step is a "baby step" in navigating the new challenges that come with pregnancy and parenthood after loss. Baby Steps is a peer-led support group of Emma's Footprints who's mission is to provide a community and support for loss parents who are expecting or raising their rainbow baby. 🌈Learn more about Baby Steps he...

Listen as Lauren shares her son, Henry with us. She had two previous healthy pregnancies which resulted in her living children Rowan and Calvin. Her pregnancy with her son, Calvin, was smooth sailing until delivery. At delivery she was told Calvin had too much fluid around his heart. He spent 5 weeks in the NICU but overall lives a healthy life. Her third pregnancy ended much differently with her...

Listen as Regina shares her four losses including 2 miscarriages, 1 ectopic pregnancy and the loss of her daughter, Jordan, at 17 weeks gestation due to a cord accident.

Listen as Sofiya shares her son Emerson with us. Sofiya and her husband Bill were over the moon excited when they finally got pregnant after more than a year of trying to conceive. She reflects back on the pregnancy being difficult from the very beginning. She experienced very heavy bleeding and found out she had a subchorionic hematoma. She went into preterm labor at 19 weeks and delivered her so...

Listen as Jessica shares her pregnancy and delivery of her daughter, Freya. Jessica had a healthy pregnancy until she was 19 weeks gestation. At that point she began bleeding fairly heavily. Her doctors told her they suspected a placental abruption. From 19 weeks to 23 weeks gestation, Jessica was in and out of the hospital multiple times due to her heavy bleeding. At 23 weeks 3 days, Jessica went...

Listen as Maci shares her daughter Luna with us. Luna was born in March of 2021. She had a textbook pregnancy and delivery. Maci and her husband's lives were flipped upside down when at two months old, Luna was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. She fought hard, but in December 2021, Luna passed away.

Listen as Courtney shares what it was like to find out her daughter, Celeste, did not have a heartbeat at 22 weeks gestation. In 2021, in the midst of the pandemic, she attended her 22 week anatomy scan alone. At that appointment she was told her baby no longer had a heartbeat. Listen as Courtney shares that experience and giving birth to her daughter Celeste who was stillborn.

Listen as Regina shares her sweet Reina with us. Regina went into preterm labor at 25 weeks and delivered Reina. Only six days before her delivery, Regina found out her baby had down syndrome. After birth, Reina had to have surgery to repair her PDA valve. The surgery was successful, but her little lungs had become cystic. She fought hard and lived for 69 on life support. Thank you Regina for shar...

Listen as Morgan shares what it was like to experience two stillbirths in less than a year. Morgan and her husband Jason were overjoyed when they got pregnant right after getting married. Her pregnancy was very smooth until her 20 week ultrasound when she was told her baby didn't have a heartbeat. She was induced and her son, Harrison, was stillborn. After testing, they found out Morgan had ex...

Listen as Allie shares losing her twins, Sunny and River, in an early term miscarriage. Allie and her boyfriend, Matt, were ecstatic when they found out they were expecting because they truly though that they were unable to get pregnant. As a twin herself, Allie was not necessarily shocked when she discovered she was expecting twins, she was just overjoyed at the thought of becoming a mom. However...

For this episode, we asked our friends from the Guys and Grief to spearhead the Father's Day Episode. Guys and Grief is geared toward fathers that have experienced pregnancy or infant loss. The Podcast is meant to provide a platform to talk about the under-resourced, and often undiscussed, perspective of men that have experienced child loss. Created by 3 close friends - Brad who experienced mu...

On this episode we welcome our guest, Amy Watson. Amy is a coach for loss moms, but also a loss mom herself. She has six living children and on this episode we meet her babies Lauren who was stillborn at 39.5 weeks gestation and River who she lost at 14 weeks gestation. If you'd like to learn more about Amy and Smooth Stones Coaching, visit smoothstonescoaching.com.

Listen as Karina shares what it was like to lose her son, Ari, at 39 weeks 3 days gestation. He passed due to hypoxia ischemic encephalopathy caused by a double nuchal cord. Karina had to have an emergency c-section. Ari was resuscitated at birth, but was never able to fully recover and passed early the next day.

Listen as Katie shares her story. Due to PCOS, she had fertility issues so she and her husband, Josh, were over the moon when they found out they were expecting. Little did she know at the time, she was actually pregnant with twins! She had a smooth pregnancy until she was about 19.5 weeks gestation and went into preterm labor.

Listen as Alyssa shares her babies Alexander and Devin with us. Alyssa found out she was pregnant in 1997 with her son, Alexander. At a routine doctor's appointment at 26 weeks gestation they were having trouble detecting Alex's heartbeat. They sent her to the hospital for a sonogram and she was told Alexander no longer had a heartbeat. In 2002, Alyssa got pregnant again with twins. She lo...

Tracy and Julie talk through five ways you can cope this Mother's Day. This list of ways to cope doesn't just apply to Mother's Day or holidays, but any day for that matter. Self-care is such an important part of your grief journey. 1. Give yourself permission to feel your emotions. 2. Find a positive outlet for your feelings. 3. Avoid social media or other triggers. 4. Plan a ME day....

Listen as Brooke shares her daughter Sloane with our listeners. Brooke and her husband started the IVF process in the midst of the pandemic and got pregnant right away. At her anatomy scan, she was told Sloane had a tumor and a lot of fluid around the her heart. She was later diagnosed with a Pericardial Teratoma, a very rare tumor that arise from the sac lining of the heart.