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Maria Servold Hope Blooms Editor We at EPLA were happy to see this week that the founder of Frida products (like the well-known NoseFrida and Frida mom postpartum products) are launching products designed specifically for women suffering pregnancy loss. According to this article, founder Chelsea Hirschhorn first developed the popular items in her baby and mom lines even though other manufacturers thought the baby/postpartum space was “too small to disrupt.” Unsurprisingly, the well-designed products became near-essentials for new moms. If a mom-to-be doesn’t have any Frida products on her registry, you should buy them for her anyway! Hirschhorn said she decided to create products for pregnancy loss after suffering two miscarriages of her own: "After losing two pregnancies during the pandemic, I realized that I needed many of the same products as I did postpartum, but without the sentimental marketing that's usually attached to these items. Pregnancy loss is an emotionally delicate time, and until now there have been no products designed for it." Since our inception, EPLA has prioritized physical resources when providing for women suffering pregnancy loss. The physical side of a loss cannot be overlooked, even if the emotional side feels like it demands the most from us. We have curated miscarriage care kits for losses both after a D&C and for anticipation of miscarriage at home. The new Frida Mom incomplete pregnancy supplies are a welcome addition to the miscarriage care world. 
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Emily Carrington EPLA Executive Director Among the chatter and clutter of “New year, new you,” I have seen a very helpful admonition floating around social media: leaving 2022 doesn’t mean leaving the one you lost behind. For once, I think social media is right. It can be hard when the new year doesn’t feel fresh, and especially when you don’t want it to. What does fresh mean? Does it mean we forget, get rid of, or move on from all that we had? For women who suffered miscarriage last year, 2022 might hold many highs and lows and the only evidence of your baby. For many women, the entirety of their little one’s existence is limited to just a few months in 2022. Some women might be ready to move on, move forward, and get out of their grief. This is the way I felt. 2014 was a year of hell. Between February and October I conceived and lost two babies. 2015 was a welcome relief. I was tired of death, and I needed something different. I was not mad to say goodbye to 2014. But 2014 was also a year of life. Those babies lived inside of me, even if it was only for a few short weeks. That is something I should have done better to honor. Both for myself and for my babies. While I might have failed in this way - one thing is true: I have not forgotten about these children, nor have I “left them” in 2014. They are part of everything I do - even when I am not consciously aware of it. In their short lives they shaped me and my family, and their impact ripples through our community in so many ways. If you are struggling with hope as we enter a new year, know that your memories of a lost baby will not go away. The flipping of the calendar page does not erase their existence, nor does it speed up your grief process. But the coming of the new year does indicate that time passes and that can be hard to accept. Use this time as a marker to take account of where you are and how you are feeling. Know that their lives are still real. Know that moving forward in grief is not a failure.  |
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