In our third episode on Pregnancy & Infant Loss we hear from Michelle Valiukenas, Founder of The Colette Louise Tisdahl Foundation. In this two part episode we spend the first half hearing Michelle's story of her journey to parenting, from her struggles with pregnancy loss and infertility to finally becoming pregnant with Colette, being admitted to the hospital half way through her pregnancy, Colette's early arrival and her stay in the NICU for her nine days of life. In the second half of the episode we get into the very real operational challenges for parents who experience high risk pregnancies, births and babies. From issues like how to keep your job when you've been admitted to the hospital indefinitely to managing compounding hospital bills to daily hospital commutes when your baby is in the NICU but you have been sent home, Michelle experienced first hand the many unfair challenges parents face every day and set out to create a support system with her foundation. (TW: miscarriage, infertility, pregnancy trauma, infant loss)
Resources from Michelle:
https://www.facebook.com/colettetisdahl
https://www.instagram.com/colettelouisetisdahl/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-colette-louise-tisdahl-foundation
https://twitter.com/TheTisdahl
Newsletter Signup: https://www.getrevue.co/profile/colettelouisetisdahl
Donation Link: https://colettelouise.com/donate
Following the episode we are joined by Melo Garcia, grief specialist and founder of After Chloe, to help us process the episode and provide tools for coping with grief and loss. Melo has provided the following resources:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1604294739807881/
https://www.intsagram.com/AfterChloe
https://www.facebook.com/AfterChloe
Reslience of Grieving Podcast with Melo Garcia
I Had a Miscarriage: A Memoir, a Movement https://www.amazon.com/dp/1558612882/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_NWXRTWD0Z9976YJW3W9Q
Unexpecting: Real Talk on Pregnancy Loss https://www.amazon.com/dp/0764237713/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_4RHADXG8YTHNEK309ND8