Love & Loss

So many grieving parents have found healing by sharing their children on Instagram. A beautiful community has been formed. Hear more about this incredible community today!

Raquel DeLeon is 27 years old and Married. She resides in Kalispell, MT and is currently a full-time student in her first year of a PhD program in technical communication. She started 2 months after Dominic passed away and it’s been a blessing by allowing her to pour her grief into something productive. She will honor his life with research. Regarding her PhD program, as a first-generation Latina, Raquel has dedicated herself to finding alternative ways of empowering marginalized groups to find their voice and join the conversations that have impacts on our community. Raquel is currently working with her professor in writing an article about the challenges Latinx individuals face in higher education, including various forms of oppression, and how Latinx individuals resist oppressive behaviors and actions, by building coalitions with like-minded individuals. It will be published in a journal in spring of next year. She is also dedicated to contributing research in technical communication that can help fill the gap among health communication, when it comes to the Latinx community and accessing healthcare services, specifically mental health services. Outside of school, Raquel likes to focus on sharing her grief journey through my social media and her blog, Heart Mom Chronicles. Pregnancy and infant loss is prevalent and she intends to continue to strive to break the stigma of not talking about it.

Erin is the founder and leader of REALNation, a virtual fitness community designed to help women care for and strengthen their bodies, so they can do the things they love for and with the people they love. In addition to being fitness coach and influencer, Erin is an ordained clergy person in the United Methodist Church, a part-time professional grant writing and fundraising consultant, and a full-time caregiver for her small children. Erin holds a B.A. in Political Science and a Master of Divinity degree from Duke University. She currently resides in New York City with her daughter, Ella, her British/South African math professor husband, Henri, and (as of this recording) a little girl who is about 19 weeks old in the womb.

In this episode our host, Rev. Joy Van Staalduinen, shares her story of loss and what led her to start this show. Trigger warning: Miscarriage, D&C, pregnancy loss, postpartum depression

Hadeer is a certified doula in infertility and infant and pregnancy loss. She has helped many people pass through the grief. She herself experienced 6 losses back-to-back. After her Termination for Medical Reason (TFMR), she couldn't navigate the grief alone. She took up the doula course to help her understand what she's experiencing. She has had multiple miscarriages and a late-term missed miscarriage at 38 weeks when she delivered a stillborn boy. With her wealth of knowledge and empathy, she is here to assist you on your journey. She can be reached on Instagram @snowflakesonroses