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

In the fight to eliminate racial disparities in maternal and infant health, true change demands both grassroots community holding and institutional accountability.

In this powerful episode of the Sisters in Loss Podcast, host Erica M. Freeman sits down with Stacey D. Stewart, former President and CEO of the March of Dimes—the premier national non-profit leading the fight for the health of all moms and babies. During her historic tenure as the first woman and first African American to lead March of Dimes in its 80+ year history, Stacey spearheaded vital initiatives to shine a national spotlight on the Black maternal mortality crisis, systemic healthcare racism, and the staggering disparities in premature birth.

In this candid and insightful conversation, Stacey breaks down why Black women in America are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes and why maternal-infant health outcomes are tied to systemic inequality rather than personal failure. We discuss how institutional healthcare must shift from blaming mothers to overhauling policy, expanding equitable postpartum care, and investing in culturally responsive community programs.

Whether you are a mother navigating the aftermath of premature delivery or infant loss, a birth worker fighting on the frontlines, or an advocate pushing for systemic reform, this episode offers an invaluable masterclass in advocacy, resilience, and systemic change.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• The Historic Leadership at March of Dimes: Stacey's journey leading the organization and transforming its institutional priorities to address the racial disparity gap head-on.

• The Reality of Preterm Birth & Black Maternal Mortality: What the national data actually reveals about premature birth rates among Black mothers and the systemic roots of reproductive injustice.

• Beyond Wealth and Education: Why maternal complications affect Black women across all socio-economic backgrounds—and why systemic racism, not genetics or income, is the root cause.

• Policy Reform & Legislative Action: The critical role of extending postpartum Medicaid coverage to a full year and passing key maternal health policies (such as the Maternal MOMNIBUS Act).

• Community-Led Solutions: How hospital systems, doulas, grassroots leaders, and national non-profits can build authentic bridges to protect Black mothers and birthing families.

• Words of Encouragement for Bereaved & NICU Families: A heartfelt message from Stacey to mothers carrying the weight of loss or premature birth.

Connect with Sisters in Loss:

• Pre-Order Erica's Book, Never Healing Alone: EricaMFreeman.com

• Join the Sisters in Loss Community: SistersinLoss.com

• Follow on Instagram: @SistersInLoss and @EricaMichelleFree

• Become a Certified Bereavement Doula: Learn more about our training programs at SistersinLoss.com/doula

• Join Our Free Support Groups: Weekly, culturally responsive healing circles available through Postpartum Support International and Sisters in Loss.

Enjoying the show? Please take 30 seconds to rate, review, and follow Sisters in Loss on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Your reviews help ensure grieving and healing mothers around the world find this community!

What does it mean to pursue motherhood while navigating repeated loss—and make space for the parts of yourself beyond fertility?

In this episode of Sisters in Loss, Deze, the lifestyle blogger behind byDeze.com, shares her experience of eight pregnancy losses with no live births at the time of our conversation. After getting married, she experienced a miscarriage, followed by an ectopic pregnancy and six additional losses. Her journey also included an endometriosis diagnosis and the removal of her right fallopian tube.

Deze opens up about the mental and emotional toll of fertility challenges, the support she found in Facebook communities, and how blogging about life beyond fertility gave her space to connect with other parts of herself.

Whether you have experienced recurrent pregnancy loss, an ectopic pregnancy, or an endometriosis diagnosis—or want to better support someone who has—this conversation offers connection and a reminder that you don't have to navigate it alone.

Key Takeaways:

• Pregnancy loss carries an emotional toll. Deze's experience of eight losses highlights the grief that can accompany the journey toward motherhood.
• Fertility challenges can involve complex medical experiences. She shares her experience with endometriosis, ectopic pregnancy, and the removal of her right fallopian tube.
• Community can help ease isolation. Deze found support in Facebook groups where she could connect with others navigating similar experiences.
• Your identity extends beyond fertility. Blogging and creating content unrelated to fertility gave her space to enjoy other parts of her life.
• You don't have to navigate loss alone. Her story underscores the value of finding people and spaces where your experience is understood.

🔗 Important Links:

• Pre-Order Never Healing Alone: How to Navigate Grief and Find Community After Pregnancy and Infant Loss Coming April 6, 2027

  [Preorder Now at Your Favorite Bookseller] (Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Target, and Hudson Bookseller) For media inquiries: Riverchild Media | For bulk orders: BenBella Books

• Learn more about Sisters in Loss and our Doula Training: sistersinloss.com/course

• Take the Healing Archetypes Quiz: HealingArchetypeQuiz.com

• Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok: @sistersinloss

• Join the private Sisters in Loss Facebook community: Join Us

It's Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, and I'm finally revealing the cover of my debut book, Never Healing Alone. I share the meaning behind every color and image, why your pre-order matters more than you think, and three simple ways you can help this book reach the families who need it.

Sis, it's here. 💛

This October, during Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, I'm sitting with you solo to reveal the cover of my debut book, Never Healing Alone: How to Navigate Grief and Find Community After Pregnancy and Infant Loss. It's now open for pre-order and releases April 6, 2027.

Every detail on this cover was chosen with intention. I walk you through the symbolism: colors that move from deep darkness toward the warmth of sunrise, the sisterhood held in the silhouettes, and the roots and branches of the village that surrounds us when we're grieving. Together they say what this book, and this community, has always said: you were never meant to carry this alone.

I also get honest about why pre-orders matter. They shape how many copies a publisher prints, whether major retailers stock a book, and whether a story like ours gets seen at all. Black women face disproportionate rates of miscarriage, stillbirth, and maternal mortality, yet culturally responsive resources for our grief are still painfully hard to find. Your pre-order is a vote that says our losses, and our healing, deserve shelf space.

In this episode

00:00 Welcome to Sisters in Loss 02:46 The book reveal and pre-order announcement 04:13 What the cover means: colors, imagery, and symbolism 07:06 Why pre-orders matter for visibility and representation 08:52 Three ways you can support the book 11:29 Release date and a moment of gratitude 12:14 Final rally and goodbye

Key takeaways

• The cover reflects the journey from darkness to sunrise, sisterhood, and the village that holds us through loss.
• Pre-orders directly influence print runs, retailer placement, and a book's visibility at launch.
• Black women are disproportionately impacted by pregnancy loss and maternal mortality, and still underserved by grief resources that reflect their lives.
• Grief is not meant to be carried alone; community is part of the healing.

🔗 Important Links:

• Pre-Order Never Healing Alone: How to Navigate Grief and Find Community After Pregnancy and Infant Loss Coming April 6, 2027

  [Preorder Now at Your Favorite Bookseller] (Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Target, and Hudson Bookseller) For media inquiries: Riverchild Media | For bulk orders: BenBella Books

• Learn more about Sisters in Loss and our Doula Training: sistersinloss.com/course

• Take the Healing Archetypes Quiz: HealingArchetypeQuiz.com

• Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok: @sistersinloss

• Join the private Sisters in Loss Facebook community: Join Us

What do you do when the road to parenthood spans a decade filled with grief, medical battles, and devastating loss?

In today's deeply moving episode, we sit down with Lianne Totty, who endured a 10-year battle with Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and infertility before entering motherhood through the most harrowing circumstances imaginable. Lianne gave birth to her first baby at just 27 weeks, spending six grueling months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) before having to say the hardest goodbye a parent can ever face.

Yet, her journey did not end in silence. Lianne went on to deliver a second micro-preemie at 25 weeks—a miracle baby who fought through the NICU and is thriving today.

In our conversation, Lianne opens up with unfiltered honesty about the emotional toll of feeling like your body has betrayed you, the raw guilt of feeling "punished," navigating birth trauma and PTSD, and how her struggle to explain infant loss to a young child inspired her children's book, Baby Went to Heaven.

Whether you are currently in the trenches of infertility, walking through the shadows of grief, or supporting someone who is, this episode is a testament to the unyielding strength of a mother's heart and the truth that hope can outlive despair.

In this episode, we explore:

• Battling PCOS and navigating 10 years of infertility and medical intervention.

• The reality of micro-preemies: Delivering at 27 and 25 weeks.

• The emotional, mental, and physical weight of extended NICU stays.

• Coping with infant loss and confronting the toxic lie: "Did my body fail me?"

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) stemming from high-trauma births and medical environments.

• How Lianne answered her goddaughter's hardest question and wrote Baby Went to Heaven to guide grieving families.

• Finding renewal, joy, and resilience on the other side of an agonizing journey.

Connect with Guest & Resources:

• Guest: Lianne Totty

• Children's Book: Baby Went to Heaven by Lianne Totty

• Community & Support: If this episode touches your heart, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and share it with someone walking a difficult path to parenthood.

🔗 Important Links:

• Learn more about Sisters in Loss and our Doula Training: sistersinloss.com/course

• Take the Healing Archetypes Quiz: HealingArchetypeQuiz.com

• Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok: @sistersinloss

• Join the private Sisters in Loss Facebook community: Join Us

How do you mother when your arms are empty?

In this deeply moving episode, we sit down with birth and bereavement doula Danielle Anderson to discuss the raw realities of infertility, maternal grief, and the sacred journey of healing from the inside out. Danielle opens up about her personal battle with what has long been known as PCOS—recently renamed PMOS (Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome)—undergoing three rounds of Clomid to conceive her firstborn, navigating the heartbreak of two consecutive miscarriages, and the surprise conception of her second son, Chase. But just after his first birthday, the unthinkable happened: Chase passed away from what was ultimately ruled "natural causes.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The PCOS to PMOS Shift: What the landmark 2026 renaming means for how we understand, diagnose, and treat this full-body hormonal condition

• The Infertility Battle: Navigating PMOS, fertility treatments, and the emotional toll of trying to conceive

• The Weight of "Empty Arms": Facing the identity crisis of being a mother to a child you can no longer hold.

• Motherhood After Loss: Welcoming "rainbow" and "golden" babies while actively grieving.

• Holistic Self-Care: How Danielle transformed her spiritual, mental, and physical health to survive her darkest valley.

• The Calling of a Bereavement Doula: How serving other grieving mothers through Sisters in Loss became a cornerstone of her own healing

🔗 Important Links:

• Learn more about Sisters in Loss and our Doula Training: sistersinloss.com/course

• Take the Healing Archetypes Quiz: HealingArchetypeQuiz.com

• Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok: @sistersinloss

• Join the private Sisters in Loss Facebook community: Join Us

Tiana's story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, the power of advocacy, and what it truly means to hold onto faith when your body and your plans are tested on every level.

In this intimate and courageous conversation, Tiana opens up about:

• The devastation of ectopic pregnancy: Navigating the sudden loss, the emergency medical interventions, and the quiet heartbreak of an unexpected reproductive crisis.

• Facing a breast cancer diagnosis: Processing the shock of a cancer diagnosis while still grieving the loss of a pregnancy—and confronting the intersection of maternal health, oncology, and fertility preservation.

• Self-advocacy in medical spaces: How she found her voice as a Black woman navigating complex healthcare systems, asking hard questions, and demanding compassionate, comprehensive care.

• Cultivating "Mended Hope": What emotional and spiritual healing looks like when grief isn't erased, but gently mended through faith, sisterhood, and intentional restoration.

"Hope doesn't mean the cracks disappear; it means love and purpose have mended the broken pieces back together."

Why This Episode Matters

Black women navigate disproportionate maternal health risks and breast cancer mortality rates, often carrying the emotional burden of both in isolation. Tiana's transparency breaks the silence surrounding concurrent health battles and pregnancy loss.

Her journey reminds us that even when our bodies feel betrayed and our grief feels overwhelming, our stories are sacred, our pain deserves witness, and mended hope is always within reach.

Whether you are healing from an ectopic pregnancy, walking through a serious health diagnosis, or companioning someone through deep trials, Tiana's story will leave you feeling seen, fortified, and embraced by sisterhood.

🔗 Important Links:

• Learn more about Sisters in Loss and our Doula Training: sistersinloss.com/course

• Take the Healing Archetypes Quiz: HealingArchetypeQuiz.com

• Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok: @sistersinloss

• Join the private Sisters in Loss Facebook community: Join Us

In today's podcast episode, Dr. Kemi Doll, a 43-year-old double board-certified gynecologic oncologist and OBGYN, uterine cancer scientist at the University of Washington, coach for women of color in academic medicine, nonprofit founder supporting Black women with womb cancers, and author of A Terrible Strength, discusses Black womb health and the "terrible strength" that leads Black women to normalize heavy bleeding and pain, endure gynecologic disease, and delay care. She shares her personal history of lifelong painful, heavy periods, infertility labeled "unexplained," and a first endometriosis diagnosis during a C-section despite being a board-certified OBGYN, linking endurance to cognitive load and worsened outcomes. She addresses gynecology's history of experimentation on enslaved Black women and ongoing pain dismissal, and offers steps for healing and advocacy: making space for grief, learning family "womb stories," clarifying medical and physical goals, and bringing a "womb sister" to appointments, plus defining medically and spiritually safe support. Steps for Healing & Medical Advocacy

Dr. Doll outlines actionable strategies for Black women to navigate the healthcare system safely and advocate for their reproductive well-being:

Strategy Actionable Step Make Space for Grief Allow yourself to grieve the time, fertility, or bodily peace lost to undiagnosed or dismissed pain. Learn "Womb Stories" Talk to maternal relatives to uncover family histories of fibroids, heavy bleeding, infertility, or gynecologic cancers. Clarify Your Goals Determine both your medical goals (e.g., pain management, fertility preservation) and your physical goals (e.g., daily energy, comfort). Bring a "Womb Sister" Never go to critical appointments alone. Bring a trusted friend, family member, or doula to act as your advocate and take notes. Define Safe Support Actively seek out healthcare providers who offer both medically safe clinical care and spiritually safe emotional support.

🔗 Important Links:

• Learn more about Sisters in Loss and our Doula Training: sistersinloss.com/course

• Take the Healing Archetypes Quiz: HealingArchetypeQuiz.com

• Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok: @sistersinloss

• Join the private Sisters in Loss Facebook community: Join Us

Timestamps 00:00 Meet Dr. Kemi Doll 02:11 Book Praise And Chapter Nine 05:18 Why She Told Her Story 08:14 Infertility And Endometriosis 11:41 Defining Terrible Strength 17:02 Medicine And Black Pain History 22:00 Puberty Pain And Grief Space 26:24 Survival Guide To Healing 27:17 Grief And Emotions 28:03 Family Womb Stories 30:03 Medical Goals And Questions 32:19 Define How You Want Feel 33:21 Bring A Womb Sister 36:08 Building A Safe Village 37:05 Medical Trust And Expertise 39:44 Spiritual Safety And Support 41:47 Her Own Village 44:28 Encouragement And Next Steps 46:44 Where To Find Dr Kemi 48:36 Final Book Recommendations

In today's episode, Anietie Tia Ukpe-Wallace, a pelvic health physical therapist and author of Tending to Your Womb, shares how relocating from Northern California to Lisbon, Portugal will shape her continued work virtually and internationally. She recounts chronic infections and pelvic pain that led her to pelvic health, then details her first pregnancy in 2011 complicated by fibroids and ending in a 20-week loss, followed by a second loss six months later. She explains how grief can manifest physically through posture, breathing, reduced movement, nervous system effects, and pelvic floor tension, and defines pelvic floor therapy's functions and common symptoms. Wallace describes how pelvic therapy after loss may begin with external work (breath, abdominal touch/massage, education) before any internal exam, emphasizes finding therapists comfortable with loss, and discusses surgery, therapy, and practices that supported her later pregnancy and ongoing anxiety. She highlights body literacy as a core takeaway from her book and shares where to buy it and how to connect with her and her retreats. Key Takeaway: Body Literacy

The core mission of her book, Tending to Your Womb, is to cultivate body literacy—empowering individuals to deeply understand, listen to, and advocate for their own reproductive and pelvic health.

• Connect & Learn More: Listeners can purchase Tending to Your Womb through major book retailers and connect with Anietie online to learn more about her virtual pelvic health consulting and upcoming international wellness retreats.

🔗 Important Links:

• Learn more about Sisters in Loss and our Doula Training: sistersinloss.com/course

• Take the Healing Archetypes Quiz: HAQuiz.com

• Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok: @sistersinloss

• Join the private Sisters in Loss Facebook community: Join Us

Time Stamps 00:00 Meet Tia Wallace 01:00 Yoga to Pelvic Health 04:26 Loss and Fibroids Story 06:47 Grief Becomes Pelvic Pain 08:44 Books That Changed Everything 13:50 What Pelvic Floor Therapy Is 18:54 How Grief Lives in the Body 25:59 When to Seek Pelvic PT 29:21 First Visit What to Expect 32:58 Belly Work First 33:51 Pain Without Aggravation 35:30 Cranial Nerve Connection 36:42 Book And Body Betrayal 38:24 Touch And Pleasure Practices 42:22 Trying Again After Loss 43:15 Her Loss And Surgery Story 47:38 Readiness And Anxiety Tools 50:09 Body Literacy Takeaways 54:59 Where To Buy And Work 57:56 Rapid Fire Reflections 01:00:39 Connect And Closing

Can you imagine getting pregnant while on birth control? For United States Naval Officer Jordan Johnson, this rare surprise became a reality when she beat the statistical odds and conceived while her IUD was still in place.

What started as a journey of unexpected joy—complete with a cross-country military relocation and a beautiful baby shower—tragically shifted just two weeks later. At 29 weeks, Jordan rushed to the hospital only to learn her son no longer had a heartbeat. 💔

In our latest episode, Jordan bravely opens up about the traumatic reality of delivering her son breech, the severe PTSD she experienced in the delivery room, and the shocking clinical discovery that followed. Doctors found that her IUD had caused a silent infection in her womb, leading to a fatal hemorrhage around her son's umbilical cord.

🎙️ Key Themes in Today's Episode Topic What You Will Learn IUD Complications The hidden risks of silent womb infections caused by intrauterine devices. Delivery Room Trauma Navigating the physical and emotional PTSD of a late-term stillbirth and breech delivery. Pregnancy After Loss The proactive, high-risk medical strategies doctors used to ensure the safety of Jordan and her daughter in a subsequent pregnancy.

🔗 Important Links:

• Learn more about Sisters in Loss and our Doula Training: sistersinloss.com/course

• Take the Healing Archetypes Quiz: HAQuiz.com

• Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok: @sistersinloss

• Join the private Sisters in Loss Facebook community: Join Us

In this deeply emotional and urgent episode of Sisters in Loss, we sit down with Kennedy Marie, a 26-year-old yogini, doula, and artist from Houston, TX. Kennedy shares her story from the absolute center of her grief—just one month after the devastating loss of her twins.

Kennedy's pregnancy was beautiful until her water broke prematurely at 20 weeks. She bravely walks us through the trauma that followed: being placed on hospital bedrest, delivering and losing her daughter a week later, and the harrowing delivery of her son just days after that due to suspected infection. Kennedy sheds light on the horrific medical negligence she endured, from delivering her son completely unassisted on a hospital table, to facing overt racial slurs from nursing staff on the darkest night of her life.

There is no neatly packaged healing journey in this episode. Instead, Kennedy offers a profoundly honest look at the raw, immediate aftermath of loss, the glaring disparities Black women face in maternal healthcare, and the exhausting reality of having to advocate for your basic humanity while saying goodbye to your children.

Episode Takeaways

The Rawness of Early Grief An honest look at what it means to just survive the first 30 days after unimaginable loss, without the pressure of "healing" yet.

Systemic Medical Negligence Kennedy's firsthand account of being neglected by hospital staff during a traumatic, premature delivery.

Maternal Healthcare Disparities The horrifying reality of facing overt racism and administrative incompetence (including major HIPAA violations) while in active mourning.

The Strength to Speak How Kennedy found the strength to report her experiences to hospital administration the very next morning before discharging herself.

🔗 Important Links:

• Learn more about Sisters in Loss and our Doula Training: sistersinloss.com/course

• Take the Healing Archetypes Quiz: HAQuiz.com

• Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok: @sistersinloss

• Join the private Sisters in Loss Facebook community: Join Us