Episode 60: The Agony of Recurrent Miscarriage
“Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint…” Romans 5:3-5
Summary:
In this episode, Elizabeth Leon is joined by Jenny Ingles and Elizabeth Naida to talk honestly about recurrent miscarriage, infertility, and the spiritual and emotional impact of repeated loss. Their conversation names the hidden grief many families carry and explores how faith, marriage, medicine, and motherhood intersect amid that suffering. They discuss the pain of multiple losses, the toll on women’s bodies, the limits of medical care, and the challenge of discerning what openness to life means in real life.
Key Topics:
Jenny Ingles shares a long fertility journey that included seven years before a living baby, multiple miscarriages, a partial molar pregnancy, an ectopic pregnancy, a chemical pregnancy, premature ovarian insufficiency, and four living children amid eight pregnancies.
Elizabeth Naida shares her path through nine losses, including a stillbirth, an early miscarriage, a trisomy 18 diagnosis, several later miscarriages, and the discovery of an autoimmune response to pregnancy.
Both women describe how recurrent miscarriage is not just one loss repeated, but an accumulating trauma that changes how pregnancy is experienced, how hope is managed, and how bodies are understood.
The conversation explores the pain of wanting children while being unable to predict or control pregnancy outcomes.
The episode addresses the tension between medical advice and Catholic teaching, including the guests’ experiences discerning whether to pursue treatment and how to remain open to life without placing themselves in danger.
Memorable Quotes:
“The second time you knew what the silence of the ultrasound meant.”
“This cross isn’t an accident.”
“I’ve stopped praying for another baby. And I’ve started to pray that, Lord, you will satisfy this desire of my heart.”
Discussion Questions:
How have you struggled with your relationship with your body through your journey with pregnancy loss?
The guests describe feeling let down by medical care and having to advocate for themselves. What helps patients feel heard and supported when their experience is complex or answers are uncertain?
How did the guests’ ways of remembering their babies—through names, prayer, pictures, and family traditions—shape their sense of connection and hope? What might remembrance look like for different families?
