Female Voices: Life and Loss

Gemma Smith from the UK shared about her infertility journey and the loss of her baby at 38 weeks pregnant. She shared the heartache of losing her daughter, Angel after struggling for over two years to become pregnant. Gemma shared that the baby died, due to the umbilical cord not attaching correctly to the placenta.  She shared very passionately about changing how pregnant women are dismisse...

Jenni Verhoven is a Regenerative Health Coach who specializes in getting to the root cause of health concerns. With her help women can experience improved digestion, have more energy without the use of stimulants, and live a more vibrant life than they ever thought was possible. During this episode, Jenni shared great information to help women with overall health and infertility. Take time pre-pre...

Teresa shared about how important it is to advocate for yourself.  Over and over women talk about being upset and angry with how they were treated or not treated by medical staff. Being dismissed is a huge problem. She talked about speaking up if your gut is not feeling comfortable with your care. If you have questions or don't understand, speak up. If your emotions are heightened or you are...

Desirae Whittle is certified birth doula who specializes in pregnancy after infertility and loss; or as she calls it: Expecting after the Unexpected. She is the owner of Harmony Births Doula Services. A doula is a person who supports a mother (and partner) during pregnancy, childbirth, and in the postpartum period emotionally, physically, and informationally.  Desirae is enthusiastic about wo...

Shona Jagusch and her husband have a blended family, each having children from their previous marriages. Wanting to have a child to complete their family, Shona became pregnant fairly quickly. She started bleeding and was told she had a miscarriage. Shona said I never  experienced a miscarriage and I didn't know what to expect ... it wasn't explained. A few weeks later after this "miscarriage...

Dr. Katie Wood is a mother, Pharmacist, ecommerce entrepreneur and Integrative Fertility Health Coach. She is the founder of Pharm to Wellness LLC and brand Happy Nourished Motherhood.  Katie helps women over 30 to nourish their mind & body for optimal fertility health so they can confidently conceive with ease and experience a vibrant pregnancy. Katie has over 9 years of experience as a...

Melody Fisher  wanted children for 12 years and is now expecting her first after going through IVF. She waited six months to get in to see a new doctor and was ready to start IVF right away, when they said it was a 3-month process. Melody thought I have already waited so long, why do I have to wait again? Melody shared about her IVF process and putting in 2 embryos and having to freeze the ot...

The holidays are the most difficult time for those that our struggling with infertility and those that have had a baby loss.  Christmas advertising and celebrating is everywhere, and it is hard to escape it. I gave some suggestions with reading bible verses, journaling and listen to music.  Do you have your plan A, B & C ready? If not, it’s time to think about your expectations for y...

Connie Houlihan is the mother of two children in Heaven, Hope Marie and Nicholas Jenkins. She shared on this episode many ways she honors her children as well as how she navigates her grief through the Holidays. She shared about lighting candles, purchasing ornaments, giving donations and more. Connie and I shared in-depth about navigating grief through a very difficult time of the year.  A f...

Jeanna Smith is a faithful follower of Jesus , wife, mother, daughter, and friend who doesn’t have it all together and is learning to be confident in the chaos. Becoming pregnant in 2020 became a very traumatic experience for Jeanna. After beginning in and out of the hospital for 2 weeks of bleeding she had a miscarriage at 8 to 9 weeks pregnant. Jeanna talked about other health issues that surfac...

During this episode I talked about scheduling time daily to grieve. While setting aside this time to feel your feelings and allow the emotions to flow can be very healing for you. Journaling during this time is important and if journaling is not your cup of tea, recording on your phone is a good way to document your thoughts and feelings. There are many things that can surface during this time and...

Noelle Robinson is a Sound Therapist, and Health and Wellness Speaker. She shared with us her very traumatic miscarriage and that she felt she tucked away the grief and hurt from that experience so she could continue with everything else in her life. Noelle talked about how all adults have experienced some sort of trauma in their life . And our nervous system and our brains have been overloaded an...

Becca Ingersoll is a wife to her college sweetheart and mother to her twin five-year-old boys. Before becoming a stay at home mom, she was a Jr. High English teacher and school librarian. Life has handed her plenty of trials—5 years of infertility, having micro-preemie twins at 23+6 gestation, special needs parenting, having one of her twins get diagnosed with leukemia, etc. Even with support thro...

Nicole Robinson shared about her struggle with infertility and her early pregnancy loss. She talked about the physical pain being terrible and that the emotional pain she wouldn't wish on anybody. Nicole's husband took her to the ER and they confirmed her loss. They were told there was no product of conception and on the paper work it said a spontaneous abortion. Nicole said I felt like an abortio...

As a step-mother to three healthy and wonderful teens, Desirae never thought she’d have trouble conceiving with her husband. However, over the course of two plus years, she experienced what the frustrating diagnosis of unexplained infertility brings; the emotional rollercoaster of transformations in relationships, hormonal changes, failed IUIs, changing doctors, and devastating news that all of th...

Theresa McRee is a Life Coach working with women that have experienced profound grief. She works with her clients to find their way to joy and part of that is finding their purpose. She said overcoming grief is perhaps the first time they can ask themselves, what is my purpose and how can I use what I have learned from this loss experience to help other people.  A few of the questions that Th...

Meta Getman and her husband Michael went through their own infertility challenges and after eight rounds of fertility treatments , achieved their dream of a family through using donor eggs. She said it took a long time to be able to say "I'm a mom" because for a long time she didn't think it would happen. She shared  that they found out early in their journey that they would have trouble conc...

Dr. Sarah Meyer shared on this episode about the of emotions she had after her fifth pregnancy ended in an early pregnancy loss. They ranged from being angry at God, to being angry at her body for betraying her. She struggled with thinking, it would be emotionally easier to pretend that I never received a positive pregnancy test.  She also struggled with severe depression, anxiety and ultimat...

October is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month and in this episode I will share how you can be a part of breaking the silence around baby loss. You may think I am one person, what can I do? Listen in as I share things you can do at home, within your community, things that are part of a global awareness and on social media. You can be a huge part of spreading awareness and eliminate...

When I ask Crystal Webster about the mission of Sharing Solace she shared. Sharing Solace helps grievers grieve and lovers love their griever through technology-elevated, pass-along-able gifts wrapped in a meaningful community of love, strength, and support - so you can always 'Remember, You're not alone.'  We know how debilitating and isolating grief can be and we want to support those griev...

Helping Women Become Loving Self-Advocates with Angie Monko Angie Monko is the owner of Harmony Harbor Coaching since 2008 and a Holistic Women’s Divorce & Loss Coach. She guides women to heal from the trauma of divorce and loss so they can get their lives back, move forward stronger and happier into their next chapter. Angie created this safe space for women to become Loving Self-Advocates, w...

Crystal Webster is the (co)founder of Sharing Solace, author of ‘Confessions of a Griever’, creator of the ‘Feel Your &*@#% Feels’ Experience, speaker, mentor, entrepreneur, and most importantly she is Madelyn Elizabeth Webster’s mama. Crystal and Kyle were given devastating news after a 32 week ultrasound that their baby was not going to live. They were given 3 choices: Go across state lines...

Amanda McMullen is a teacher, artist, and singer living in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before getting pregnant with her sweet miracle IVF baby, she experienced 4 years of infertility due to stage 4 endometriosis. During this time, she started her art business and ministry, Asher Marie Co., to process her feelings and thoughts about infertility and help those going through a similar experience. Aman...

This episode really fired me up after I recorded it . Spreading awareness about infertility, baby loss and the deep grief associated with these losses is my passion. It fuels me daily to learn more about grief by reading, listening and attending events. Learning how those with grief process grief physically, emotionally, and spiritually. How does the brain process and change with grief? Guiding ot...

Kathy Hoelscher is an elected official as a Highway Commissioner for a Township. She is a wife, and her greatest joy is being a mom or mama as her daughter calls her. Kathy's path to be a mom was lengthy and full of struggles. She shared about experiencing a couple medical conditions and a miscarriage. She remembers going to the doctor and telling him, I'm pretty happy at this point with just resi...