“Generations before us have brushed this under the rug, and that’s just not an option anymore”

A note: this episode focuses on pregnancy loss. About 20 per cent of pregnancies in Canada end in miscarriage – a loss characterized by silent grief and hidden guilt due to the stigma around sharing such an experience. Chances are, many people in your life have experienced a miscarriage or multiple infant losses that you know nothing about. Alicia Toenjes was excited to find out she was pregnant, despite being earlier than she and her husband had planned until she learned the pregnancy was ectopic. To address experiences like these, Danyelle Kaluski and Aditi Loveridge founded the Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support Centre out of their personal experiences of infant loss. And this is where Steven Pears found connection and comfort after losing his daughter to SIDS. Parents and advocates hope to destigmatize the grief that comes with infant loss and connect folks with the care and support they need instead of folks grieving in silence. Episode five of What’s Your Story? is hosted and produced by Erica John. This series is powered by Shaw and produced as part of the Community Podcast Initiative at MRU Journalism.