#51 Neo-Natal Loss, Organ Donation and Pregnancy After Loss with Claire and Andrew
In Episode 51 of Footprints on our Hearts, I chat with Claire and Andrew about their daughter Alexandra who died shortly after she was born. Claire describes Alexandra as having the dubious accolade of being “the biggest and the sickest baby on the NICU”. We discuss why they chose to explore organ donation, grief, counselling, and pregnancy and parenting after loss. Following the arrival of the couple’s second daughter, Ophelia, they experienced two years of unexplained infertility. At the time of recording the interview, Claire was pregnant with their third child and they have since welcomed baby Daphne into the world. In the interview, we talk about: Claire’s pregnancy with Alexandra and being rushed for an emergency c-section the day before her planned induction (10:27) Alexandra’s birth (14:11) Trying to keep Alexandra alive (25:40) Deciding to donate her organs and how this affected their search for answers (32:22) Grief, going back to work and receiving counselling (34:55) Getting pregnant again and pregnancy after loss (39:59) Parenting after loss while grieving Alexandra (46:36) Experiencing unexplained secondary infertility (51:46) You can connect with Claire on Instagram @afteralexandra36 and find out more about Alexandra on her blog www.afteralexandra.co.uk. In the introduction, I mention my husband’s latest endurance challenge to raise money for Tommy’s. He’s part of the @run.swim.bike.hike team planning a triathlon version of the West Highland Way this summer. Please do check out their Instagram page to support them! If you have any feedback on the show, suggestions for guests or would like to share your story, you can connect with me on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/footprintsonourhearts/), Twitter (https://twitter.com/skyesfootprints) or email [email protected]. If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a rating or review on your podcast app! You can support the show on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/footprintsonourhearts Thanks to Izzy Syme for editing and producing this episode.