October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. It happens more often than many people realize.
In a series of stories titled “The Colors of Hope,” Channel 11 is telling the stories of a group of local women who have all experienced pregnancy loss and the hope their stories can offer others.
The project, led by photographer Amber Bowers of Shutterbean Photographs, aimed to capture each mother’s journey through loss to baby bumps to welcoming new babies.
See all of the photos in a gallery here.
“It’s just not talked about, and a lot of people go through it,” Bowers said. “So many women have gone through this, and I just want them to have an outlet.”
The group met for the first time at Autumn Ridge Farm in Scottdale in May. All seven were pregnant, well into their third trimester and due within a matter of days or weeks. Each was assigned to wear a different color, which together formed a rainbow.
All of the women have experienced pregnancy loss at least once. Some have suffered multiple losses.
“I actually have experienced it myself,” Bowers said, as her eyes filled with tears. “I got two beautiful babies afterward though, so I try not to keep taking myself to grief.”
According to medical experts, as many as 10-25 percent of all pregnancies end in miscarriage.
The women, who all live in Westmoreland County, have different stories. There are moms of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. Some are married. Some are not. Some of the women have other living children while others just welcomed their first child.
Many of the women expressed feelings of intense grief, loneliness and even shame after suffering a miscarriage.
Rachael Ray and her partner Brett Slebodnik have been together for almost three years, and they’ve been through many trials during that short time.
The Sewickley Township couple has been hit with one medical crisis after another.
Ray had a cancerous mass removed from her stomach in 2024. A few months later, she learned she was pregnant. It was shocking news for the couple who did not think they would ever have children. They were ecstatic, but the pregnancy ended in a miscarriage.
Ray has a 15-year-old daughter, Arianna, but she was told she would never conceive again. She suffers from Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome, or PMOS, previously known as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome or PCOS.
While they were still recovering emotionally from the miscarriage that summer, Ray’s doctors informed her she had a mass on her thyroid.
“They confirmed that it was papillary thyroid cancer,” Rachael said. “To have two types of cancer hit you within a year… it’s a lot.”
Just one week before her thyroid surgery, Rachael learned she was pregnant again.
She considered postponing the surgery until after she gave birth. Her doctor saved her life by pushing her to reconsider.
“My OB was like, ‘You absolutely have to have this surgery. You can’t put this off.’” Rachael said. “So if it had not been for Dr. Spergel at Jefferson, I probably would have pushed it off because I was terrified. He was like, ‘It will kill you if you don’t have it done.’”
She had a successful surgery and a few months later, the couple welcomed Caden at 9 pounds 3 ounces. Ray was 40 years old.
“Don’t give up. Things will work the way that they’re supposed to work when you least expect it,” Ray said. “And those surprises are the best ones.”
Many of the women expressed that they hope by telling their stories, it not only spreads awareness but also helps other women and families who have experienced pregnancy loss know they are not alone.
“I hope that any woman who has experienced this can see that there is light, that it can happen,” Bowers said.
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