Don’t Suffer in Silence: A KSAT town hall about infertility with Stephania Jimenez

SAN ANTONIO – Last week, I had a miscarriage.

I still can’t believe it. The tiny, beautiful creature that spent eight weeks living and growing inside of me is gone. And I miss it.

They say loss takes many forms and this one was unique. In this case, I lost someone I had never met or seen, yet knew on a deeper level.

It was a part of me.

It was too early to know if it was going to be a he or she. But I never cared about the gender. My husband and I were simply excited to eventually meet the little person.

I even gave it a nickname: Peanut.

While the loss is still fresh and I continue to grieve Peanut, I’m grateful to you all.

Thank you for your love and support.

RESOURCES: Local and national support for infertility and pregnancy loss

Prayers, well-wishes and positive thoughts

When I took to social media on Sunday and shared news about my miscarriage, I didn’t imagine I’d be flooded with so many prayers, well-wishes and positive thoughts.

Your messages are giving me strength to power through, because before I told you what happened, I felt ashamed.

I wondered: was it something I did? Was I already such a bad mother that I couldn’t protect my baby?

As those thoughts swarmed my head, I started to get angry.

I was familiar with the research. By some estimates, about 20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage.

Knowing that, why was I blaming myself?

I realized that if I was feeling that way, others in my situation felt similarly.

I wanted to help.

So I picked up my phone, hit record and started talking.

I want to listen to you

Thanks for hearing me. Now, I want to listen to you.

You’ve inspired me to start a conversation about infertility.

And with the support of my bosses and colleagues at KSAT, I put together a town hall meeting that is available to watch on demand in the video player above.

A therapist and fertility specialist joined us live on our panel to answer your questions.

The town hall was open to anyone who has dealt with infertility or miscarriage or had questions about it.

It is a safe space to help you navigate what often is a difficult process.

So, here’s what we need for the conversation to continue: your questions.

Share your questions

This week served as a powerful reminder that no one should suffer in silence.

Our community is too warm and loving to let that happen.

Let’s help each other heal.