Chelsea Glenn vividly remembers the first signs of trouble after learning she was pregnant.
The light spotting and sharp cramps; she had no idea what was happening.
“I remember feeling so isolated,” Glenn said. “Like, what’s wrong with my body? Why did this happen to me?”
A doula in her second year of practice, Glenn knew more than most about the fragile realities of pregnancy. But when she miscarried at just six weeks in August 2024, nothing prepared her for the silence that followed.
“I just went through this whole year of getting with this functional medicine doctor, healing hormone, healing my hormones, things are going great, ” she said. “I couldn’t understand why my body failed me.”
Glenn is not alone. Miscarriage is the most common pregnancy complication, yet one of the least discussed. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 4 pregnancies end in loss, and Black women face higher rates of miscarriage, stillbirth and maternal health complications compared to white women. Yet stigma and silence often leave families grieving alone.
That silence is what Jamilah Robinson, co-founder and president of Missing Pieces Support Group (MPSG), set out to break.
Turning grief into action
In 2018, Robinson suffered two miscarriages of her own. The first left her in shock; the second spiraled her into depression.
“Most women don’t even know what a miscarriage is until it happens to them,” she said. “You feel alone, and then society expects you to just move on.”
A local support group changed everything. Surrounded by women who had walked the same path, Robinson felt seen for the first time. The bond grew so strong that even after the seven-week program ended, the women kept meeting. From those conversations, MPSG was born.
Based in Houston, the nonprofit now provides care packages, resource lists, peer groups and even specialized support for fathers grieving pregnancy or infant loss. Robinson said talking remains one of the most powerful coping tools.
“When you sit in a space and realize you’re not the only one, it’s healing. You can share without worrying about the wrong words triggering deeper pain.”
Jamilah Robinson
Pregnancy loss is common in hospitals, but Robinson said too often, women are treated as routine cases rather than grieving parents.
“If you miscarry early, you may leave the ER without any next-step resources,” she said. “You’re discharged like you came in with a cold. It’s traumatic.”
Doula Sanyika Williams confirms this gap, stressing that whether a person experiences a miscarriage or a stillbirth, they are entering a postpartum period that the medical system frequently ignores.
“As their body has gone from being pregnant to not being pregnant, they still deal with a physical aspect of it,” Williams explains. “This includes weeks of postpartum bleeding, uterine healing, and the challenging decision about suppressing or managing lactation, all potent emotional reminders of the loss.”
“The definition of postpartum is after birth, after whichever birth,” Williams insists. “That is still a postpartum period that still requires or should be supported with rest and recovery.”
How doulas fill the gap
When medicine and family support systems fall short, doulas step in to honor the physical and emotional healing process. Williams says that support goes beyond talk; it’s about tangible acts of care. They bridge gaps in communication between families and providers, act as advocates and help navigate the complexities of the healthcare system, thereby creating a safer and more supportive environment for birthing people and their families.
Williams’ holistic approach includes:
- Honoring Rest: Organizing meals to ensure the family has warm, healing foods without the pressure of cooking.
- Physical Healing: Providing comfort measures, such as belly wrapping to support the changing body and herbal sitz baths for recovery.
- Resource Navigation: Immediately connecting parents to specialized grief support groups and counselors so they don’t have to “start Googling” during a period of intense grief.
Glenn relied on her doula and midwife community. She was grateful she didn’t have to navigate the hospital system. But she worries about those who do.
Research backs her concerns. Studies show that Black women are more likely to report inadequate communication and support from providers during pregnancy complications.
That’s why Missing Pieces partners with midwives, doulas and birthing centers to ensure families leave with more than medical discharge papers. Every care package includes books, journals, devotionals, an ornament of remembrance, and an invitation to join support groups when ready.
The organization also launched Healing After Loss Support for Men, one of the few programs in the region dedicated to fathers.
“Men grieve too,” Robinson said. “They’re often expected to only support their partner, but they’re carrying their own loss.”
In October, during Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, MPSG will host its second annual Life After Loss 5K & Fun Run at Houston’s MacGregor Park. Proceeds will fund care packages, peer support groups, and outreach to families navigating loss.
The nonprofit will also lead a “Wave of Light” remembrance ceremony, joining a global movement where candles are lit at 7 p.m. local time to honor babies gone too soon.
“We want people to see that this is real, that families carry this grief every day,” Robinson said. “And we want those families to see that they are not alone.”
