USA Today published an article today entitled The Rate of Women Dying in Childbirth Surged by 40%. These Deaths are Preventable. Let’s talk about this because I was almost one of those statistics. But first things first. Ya’ll need to stop believing that the United States is immune to a high maternal mortality rate as…
Category: Awareness
Miscarriage and Stillbirth – A Daily Occurrence
Yesterday I received a phone call from a grieving mother who had a miscarriage at about 16 weeks of pregnancy. She was calling because she had no money and didn’t want her baby to be sitting in a cold fridge at the coroner’s office. She was desperate to find a final resting place for her…
The Flu Vaccine and Miscarriage
Newly pregnant mothers want to know, is the flu vaccine safe in pregnancy? The flu vaccine is recommended for all pregnant women and women are told there is little to no risk in receiving the vaccination during their pregnancy. Yet many vaccinations haven’t been tested in pregnant women. So let’s talk about it. This published…
#SuicideAwareness
#SuicideAwareness has been circulating the internet over the last year or so. I am sure it has been around much longer but recent events have caused this hashtag to spread dramatically. It’s a great hashtag and is usually preceded by someone asking to post a status that says, “Share this so others can see that…
Miscarriage and the Flu Vaccine
Several mainstream news sources, to include USA Today, have recently posted articles on miscarriage and the influenza vaccination. Newly pregnant mothers want to know, is the flu vaccine safe in pregnancy? The flu vaccine is recommended for all pregnant women and women are told there is little to no risk in receiving the vaccination during…
The Struggle to Go In – When Baby isn’t Moving Regularly
I specialize in pregnancy loss. I have been working with women for six years now, in differing capacities as a perinatal loss specialist and bereavement doula. In my childbirth education classes, we review fetal kick counts, fetal movements, and I share that it’s a myth that babies “run out of room” the farther along in…
Pregnancy After Loss – Bargaining
When you pee on that stick and see the positive, you are elated…usually. Even in pregnancy after loss, there are moments of excitement which appear immediately upon seeing the positive test but it isn’t usually long until the worry and anxiety sets in. It’s almost as if entering pregnancy after loss means restarting the stages…
How Far Along Are You?
When a woman discovers she is pregnant, the inevitable question is immediately asked. How far along are you? I will say that we had known for weeks before we shared with a few select people and waited even longer to share with the rest of our close friends and family. Some, were kept in the…
Dear Self Magazine: Change on Miscarriage Starts With You
Self Magazine published an article on August 5, 2016 entitled When You’re Having a Miscarriage but Have to Work Anyway, by Zahra Barnes. This article helps bring to light many of the pressing issues women who miscarry face such has social stigmas and having to work through a miscarriage. Many women don’t realize that miscarriage…
The Dark Side
It’s hard to believe that there is actually a dark side to pregnancy loss organizations. At least some of them and to know that a dark side exists, damages trust. At a time when families need love and support the most, some are being turned away and they don’t even know it. It’s almost similar…