Pregnancy loss can be devastating for couples, especially recurrent losses. October marks Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, and Channel 11 is launching a series of stories highlighting the topic and how women are navigating pregnancy after loss.
Chelsea Fischer suffered two.
“It changes you truly forever,” Fischer said.
She and her husband Ryan live in West Leechburg with their son Easton and new baby girl Aubrie.
The couple got married in 2020. The “in sickness” part of their vows arrived by their first anniversary.
“On our honeymoon, which was the year after we got married, my husband got flesh-eating bacteria,” Fischer said.
That led to two years of surgeries and hospital visits. It also delayed their dreams of starting a family. But in February 2024, the couple welcomed Easton.
“He was just the light of our lives. And we always knew we wanted more,” Fischer said.
The couple was overjoyed when they became pregnant again. But they received devastating news during Fischer’s 12-week ultrasound.
“I kept talking through the whole appointment, but my husband and the ultrasound tech were so quiet ‘cause I think they knew before I did,” Fischer said.
The tech confirmed there was no heartbeat.
“My stomach dropped. There was no air in my lungs, and I just cried,” Fischer said. “The day stood still. It was like we walked out of the appointment and the sun was still shining, and it was like our whole world was falling around us.”
They had suffered a missed miscarriage.
“And then it happened again,” Fischer said.
That time, her pregnancy stopped at five weeks.
Fischer says they were overwhelmed with grief, questions and misplaced blame. She knows now the losses were not her fault but said she had a hard time not blaming herself.
“That just compounded until we got pregnant with Aubrie. It’s just more fear, more fear,” she said. “You still have the excitement, but it’s mostly fear.”
Fear is a common emotion felt by women who have suffered pregnancy loss. It’s something we heard over and over while working on this project.
Westmoreland County photographer Amber Bowers had a vision: a rainbow photo shoot featuring a group of mothers who suffered loss and were pregnant with rainbow babies.
See all of the photos in a gallery here.
Rainbow babies are healthy children born to a woman who has experienced pregnancy or infant loss. The term is based on the saying that “after every storm, there is a rainbow.”
Medical experts say as many as 25 percent of all pregnancies end in a miscarriage.
Bowers found seven women willing to participate in the photo shoot and arranged a group maternity shoot and a second photo shoot a couple months later with their newborns.
One of the goals of the photography project was to send a message to other women and couples in mourning that they are not alone.
Chelsea and Ryan Fischer welcomed Aubrie Mae in May at 9 pounds, 7 ounces. Her name honors the baby the Fischers lost a year prior.
“We had lost our first baby in April. Because she (Aubrie) was due in May, she was our April showers bringing May flowers. So she’s Aubrie Mae,” Fischer said
Look for more stories featuring the seven women and highlighting topics related to pregnancy loss in our series of stories “The Colors of Hope.”
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