Thriving After Pregnancy Loss with Julie Sawaya

Thriving After Pregnancy Loss with Julie Sawaya is Episode 125 of the Juna Moms Podcast.

julie sawaya pregnancy loss

The Juna Moms Podcast is a weekly discussion where Juna Founder, Sarah Kuhn, talks to experts in their field so they can share their specific knowledge and make this Motherhood journey a little bit easier and a LOT less lonely!

In this episode, Sarah talks with Julie Sawaya, founder of the Perinatal Nutrition Company: Needed.

What is a Pregnancy Loss?

The spontaneous loss of a pregnancy before the 20th week can be both physically and emotionally painful.

The most common type of pregnancy loss is a miscarriage. They often often occur because the fetus isn’t developing normally.

Symptoms include fluid, blood, or tissue passing from the vagina and pain in the belly or lower back. It’s also very common to feel sadness or grief.

Unfortunately, the miscarriage process can’t be reversed once it has started.

How common is pregnancy loss?

It’s estimated there are more than 3 million cases per year in the United States.

About 10 to 20 percent of known pregnancies end in miscarriage.

But the actual number is likely higher because many miscarriages occur very early in pregnancy — before you might even know about a pregnancy.

How To Grieve After Pregnancy Loss

There is no right answer here and women will grieve in many different ways after a pregnancy loss. Some prefer to try to conceive quickly, others need time to heal.

Julie says, “The time that you take in healing from a miscarriage physically, emotionally, spiritually is going to set your future family up so well.” That pain. Isn’t intergenerational and you welcome your next baby into the world.

Not in a place of them filling a gap replacing something that was lost, but really from a place of you were meant to be here.

What is a Loss Doula?

We often think of doulas as being there for birth support. Julie worked with a postpartum doula, but there are also doulas who are available for support during a pregnancy loss.

Loss doulas can help couples work through pregnancy loss, process the experience and be open to a new pregnancy.

They work either one-on-one or in groups, helping you to process through your fears, talking through uncertainties, talking through your vision of what you want to feel when you’re conceiving again, the experience of carrying the baby and having the baby leave your body, and more.

Miscarriage is different for women than for men, but often people don’t even ask men how they’re feeling about it or the partner who was not pregnant.

It’s important to connect with your partner and process what you’re both going through.

How Does Nutrition Relate To Miscarriage

It’s important to care for body through sleep, rest, nutrition and movement after a miscarriage.

Some of the key nutrients your body needs after a miscarriage are:

• Folate
• Antioxidants
• Omega 3s
• High quality prenatal vitamin
• Pre and probiotics
• Support your partner with sperm health supplements

Tips for Thriving After Pregnancy Loss

Allow yourself the space to grieve
Remove the guilt — this is not your fault
Replenish your body with healthy foods, movement, and rest
Work with a loss doula or therapist
Check in with your partner, they experienced loss too.
Start back on a prenatal vitamin as soon as you think you are ready to start trying to conceive again

tips for thriving after pregnancy loss

For more on prenatal vitamins and surviving miscarriage, please listen to the entire episode with Julie.

Get In Touch With Julie Sawaya

julie sawaya pregnancy loss

Julie discovered her passion for nutrition around her family dinner table.

Her dad (an MD) was diagnosed with diabetes when she was just 5 years old.

His illness has had a profound effect on her, leading her to research, experience firsthand, and advocate for the connection between our health, our families and communities, and how we choose to nourish ourselves.

Her passion for nutrition only grew as she began her journey to motherhood, as the quality of our nourishment as mamas-to-be and new mamas quite literally impacts the health and well being of our entire family.

Learn more About Julie and Needed