My brother reached for my mother’s hand and then they walked up the driveway and then he let go of her hand. And she wrote in the story, “sometimes your children will hold your hand for perhaps the last time and you have to have enough common sense and grace to let them let go and then use that hand to wave them on.” That little quote of hers is such a gift for grievers too because we do also need that courage and grace to let go and wave them on. It's so hard. It's the hardest thing.

So, now I’ve been through two pregnancies after loss. I get the anxiety. I get the fear. But I also know that grief and joy go hand-in-hand. That there is hope after loss. I know that the love we have for our babies is stronger than the fear of losing them. And I know that time softens grief, but it will never erase it. 

When Taja Iglesias, a young BIPOC girl with a Spanish last name, gave birth in southern Florida over a decade ago, she had no idea that her experience would inspire her to create a doula agency that would support families in the U.S. and beyond.