On this episode of Miscarriage Stories we hear from Sam who joined us for episode 39 to share her experience with miscarriage. Now she's back to share more about recurrent pregnancy loss, lots and lots of testing, traveling to Mexico for Immunotherapy (and getting stuck at the border), plus IVF, and pregnancy after loss.

Miscarriage Stories is hosted by Arden Cartrette who is a Birth & Bereavement Doula that founded "The Miscarriage Doula" -- an online support service and resource for people who are experiencing or have experienced loss. Support is offered through 1:1 support, group support, blog posts, and Instagram content. Learn more at themiscarriagedoula.co

Rachel from the Hope Again Collective joins Arden to talk about her experience with pregnancy loss and what life after loss looks like for a pastor. She also wrote a book titled Miscarried Hope: Journeying with Jesus through Pregnancy and Infant Loss which is available now!

https://hopeagaincollective.com

Miscarriage Stories is hosted by Arden Cartrette who is a Birth & Bereavement Doula that founded "The Miscarriage Doula" -- an online support service and resource for people who are experiencing or have experienced loss. Support is offered through 1:1 support, group support, blog posts, and Instagram content. Learn more at themiscarriagedoula.co

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Arizona joins Arden to discuss her experience with a miscarriage during her third pregnancy. "Angel" was born in the first trimester and with having two living sons and two step-daughters, going through a miscarriage was difficult to say the least. Hear her story on Miscarriage Stories Podcast.

Miscarriage Stories is hosted by Arden Cartrette who is a Birth & Bereavement Doula that founded "The Miscarriage Doula" -- an online support service and resource for people who are experiencing or have experienced loss. Support is offered through 1:1 support, group support, blog posts, and Instagram content. Learn more at themiscarriagedoula.co

*SENSITIVE NOTE* This episode contains really difficult details and conversations surrounding sexual abuse and the transgender community. If you have the space to listen to Alex's story, please do. You can also save it for another day or time, whenever you're ready.

Alex (he/him) joins Arden today to share the story of experiencing a miscarriage 10 years ago, prior to transitioning as a transgender male. Not only was Alex struggling with his identity but he was also sexually abused which led to a pregnancy that was both feared and in a way, wanted. Alex really opens up in this episode and shares how language has affected him as he's transgender and what grief has looked like for the last 10 years.

The Miscarriage Doula is an online service and resource for those walking through pregnancy loss and life after. Check out our website for 1:1 support and support groups ---- ⁠THEMISCARRIAGEDOULA.CO

Female filmmaker, Rakefet Abergel, who was personally traumatized by pregnancy loss, released a trailer and accompanying music video of an original song from her short film “Still” in honor of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Month.

“Still” is a moving psychological thriller short film, now entering the film festival circuit, meant to honor all mothers and families who experience infant loss at any stage. Abergel received production support from Joel Zwick (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) and Jory Weitz (Napoleon Dynamite).

Pregnancy loss is not uncommon. As many as 26% of all pregnancies and up to 10% of clinically recognized pregnancies end in ⁠miscarriage ⁠and per the CDC about ⁠24,000 babies are stillborn⁠ annually (defined as after 20 weeks gestation). However, it continues to be a taboo topic that lives in the shadows, preventing many women from getting the support they need. Abergel, writer and director of “Still”, also stars in the short film, was inspired to honor the son she lost during her pregnancy. Her trauma led to a desire to shine a light on the darker parts of the inevitable feelings, and to validate some of the emotions experienced by women who have experienced such traumas.

⁠The Life We Never Had - Music Video⁠

"Still" - Trailer

@kef827 on Instagram & @cyclamenfilms

The Miscarriage Doula is an online service and resource for those walking through pregnancy loss and life after. Check out our website for 1:1 support and support groups ---- ⁠THEMISCARRIAGEDOULA.CO

Rebecca and her husband are newly married as of July 2022 and didn’t plan to have children right away due to being in grad school. Her mind changed suddenly and they started trying to conceive.

In December 2022 she learned that she was pregnant with her daughter, Hadley. Throughout the first trimester, every ultrasound and appointment went well. Rebecca also had NIPT testing and everything came back normal without any concerns.

During the a diagnostic ultrasound, Rebecca saw that her daughter looked great and was moving around on the screen. When she sat down with the doctor, she immediately knew that something wasn’t right. The doctor sat down and started talking about what they were looking at on the ultrasound and pointed out that there was increased fluid behind Hadley’s neck which was a big concern.

Following that ultrasound, she was given a few options which were to do nothing or to do the CVS procedure. Rebecca and her husband did the CVS procedure and found it to be a difficult procedure due to a tilted uterus which resulted in a smaller sample and a longer wait time for results. In the meantime, they saw an MFM doctor where they learned about other concerns.

A month after having the CVS procedure, she finally heard the results an dit was confirmed that Hadley was missing a 13th chromosome.

Learning about her daughters quality of life was difficult and led her to make the difficult decision to go through with a termination of pregnancy.

At 18 weeks, Rebecca had a D&E procedure. She was given a copy of Hadley’s footprints and had her cremated.

A month following her D&E, Rebecca learned that she was pregnant for the second time which was a surprise. She is currently 18 weeks pregnant and did have a lot of testing and procedures to make sure that her second child was healthy.

The Miscarriage Doula is an online service and resource for those walking through pregnancy loss and life after. Check out our website for 1:1 support and support groups (GROUPS STARTING IN AUGUST 2023) ---- THEMISCARRIAGEDOULA.CO

Madison joins Arden to discuss her journey with recurrent pregnancy loss including the unexpected loss of twins (mono-mono) and how she's navigated grief especially as she is pregnant again after loss.

Discussed in this episode:

The Miscarriage Doula is an online service and resource for those walking through pregnancy loss and life after. Check out our website for 1:1 support and support groups (GROUPS STARTING IN AUGUST 2023) ---- THEMISCARRIAGEDOULA.CO

Carmen joins Arden to discuss her experience with 11 pregnancies, many of which sadly ended in loss. She experienced "chemical" pregnancies, missed miscarriages, early losses, and termination for medical reasons along with having living children between her losses. Carmen wrote a book that was created from her journal entries over the course of 5 years of her fertility journey. If you struggle with recurrent pregnancy loss -- this is a great episode to listen to.

BUY CARMEN'S BOOK (IT'S GREAT!)

The Miscarriage Doula is an online service and resource for those walking through pregnancy loss and life after. Check out our website for 1:1 support and support groups (GROUPS STARTING IN AUGUST 2023) ---- THEMISCARRIAGEDOULA.CO

On this episode of Miscarriage Stories, we hear from Brooke who experienced two losses AFTER having her three-year-old son. Loss after living children always comes as a shock because you expect the same outcome from the first pregnancy but when her second pregnancy was a blighted ovum (missed miscarriage) and then her third was a molar pregnancy, she was devastated to say the least. She shares her journey through loss, grief, and what comes next.

Miscarriage Stories is hosted by Arden Cartrette who founded The Miscarriage Doula / an online service and resource for women going through pregnancy loss. VIsit themiscarriagedoula.co to learn more