IPL Story - Founding member of The IPL Collaborative, Kimberly Dasch-Yee, PhD

I plan everything. So, when I found out I was pregnant in October 2012, I was thrilled that the baby would be born in June 2013. I am a professor, and this meant the baby would be born during my more flexible time of year.

Around 6 weeks, I started spotting. It was light at first, so I tried to desperately hold on to hope. My husband tried to help me stay calm, and together we tried to convince ourselves it was going to be okay. By the morning, it was becoming clear that it was probably not going to be okay… at least not for this pregnancy. After talking with the obstetrician’s office, we ended up going to the Emergency Department, where we were told there was no heartbeat.

IPL Story - Founding member of The IPL Collaborative, Jenai Grigg, PhD

I gave birth to my daughter, Faye, when I was thirty-five. Despite my age, we conceived in our first month of trying. I had no major complications during pregnancy and gave birth naturally.

About a year after Faye was born, I woke to the return of my menstrual cycle, light spotting and mild cramps.  The second day it intensified.  I recall thinking it was much worse than any pre-pregnancy menstration I had ever experienced.   That afternoon I phoned my mom to tell her they felt more like contractions than what I remembered of cramps.  I called her a second time to tell her I had passed a large amount of very thin, watery blood.  I was confused and oblivious. Looking back, I cannot believe I didn’t piece together what was happening to me.  My mom knew.  She told me to call my midwife.  When I did, the nurse on the phone told me I was having a miscarriage.  

IPL Story - Founding member of The IPL Collaborative, Stacy McDonald, PhD

“Unfortunately, your test came back positive…for Trisomy 18.” Those are words that you never want to hear from a genetic counselor following a free-cell fetal DNA test.  I was 36 years old and 15 weeks pregnant at the time I received that phone call.  As my mind was reeling, I listened as the genetic counselor explained that most babies diagnosed with Trisomy 18 don’t survive pregnancy. 

Of those who make it full-term, half are stillbirth, and of the babies who make it to a live birth—approximately 95% die before their first birthday due to serious health issues.  I felt like someone had knocked the wind out of me.  I’ve never felt emotional pain like that before.  I had to run upstairs and somehow maintain my composure, as our 4- and 6-year old daughters were home with me at the time.  They didn’t know that I was pregnant.  We were cautious about sharing our good news with family and friends this time around.  I don’t