Local families are heartbroken for Chrissy Teigen and John Legend after they shared they lost their baby in a miscarriage.
“This is the loss of a child. This is a baby that you planned for. I wanted my son,” said Darcea Handy. Handy is a local nurse who lost her son Aiden Christopher in 2005.
In a social media post, Teigen and Legend shared they lost their baby boy Jack after complications with her pregnancy.
She went to the hospital on Sunday, after revealing she had been on bed rest and bleeding.
In the post, Teigen said she had blood transfusions, but they weren’t enough.
It read, “On this darkest of days, we will grieve, we will cry our eyes out.”
"I just cried for her and then it was like, ‘OK, now I’m going to have to be strong for her because that’s what she’s going to need,’” said Handy.
Handy has a podcast called “Life After Loss” to help parents who have lost babies.
Since the news of Chrissy Teigen’s miscarriage, many mothers and fathers have called Handy.
“People are in disbelief. They’re very concerned for Chrissy and John,” she said.
Handy’s message to them, and other parents going through the same loss, is to lean on loved ones and take it one day at a time.
“I know it’s not going to be easy for them and they don’t need to rush it, but I believe they can certainly survive this,” said Handy.
October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month and Handy said this month especially is important for families to support each other.
Bo’s Place offers a Pregnancy Loss Grief Support Group for women who have experienced the perinatal death of a child through miscarriage or stillbirth. The purpose of the group is to provide a safe and supportive environment for women to share their experiences of pregnancy loss with others who have faced a similar life event. Due to health concerns regarding COVID-19, the groups are currently being offered online via Zoom. Bo’s Place also operates an Information and Referral line that provides information about grief support groups throughout the Houston area.
M.E.N.D. (Mommies Enduring Neonatal Death) offers support groups in Katy, Kingwood, The Woodlands and online. All online group links can be found here: https://www.mend.org/virtual-support-group-links.
First Candle offers the following online support groups: Sudden Infant Death support group, Stillbirth support group and a Miscarriage support group.
Through the Heart offers pregnancy loss support and education.
Share is a pregnancy and infant loss support group.
Luke Lives On describes their services as “assisting families who have endured pregnancy loss or early infant death with a positive grieving experience through the gift of comfort boxes and post-hospital follow-up support.” They have a list of resources.
Anyone looking for additional information can contact Bo’s Place to learn about additional programs or resources. We take calls during our business hours which are 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Monday-Thursday, and 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Friday.