A mother from Minnesota is sharing her talents and love with a special group of women who are often overlooked. Ashley Lieser crochets blankets for women who experience pregnancy loss. As a mom who has gone through the same heartache, her empathy has comforted women when they needed it.
With financial help from a GoFundMe account, she has raised enough money to provide a blanket for every woman who has experienced a pregnancy loss at Maple Grove Hospital for the next year, she told CBS News Philadelphia.
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Ashley understands the physical and emotional pain of pregnancy loss.
On her GoFundMe page, she shares her heartbreaking story. As Ashley explains, "I survived an (entirely preventable) near-death miscarriage experience as Wes and I were preparing to welcome a baby girl to our family." The couple found out at their 14-week appointment that the baby had no heartbeat.
According to the grieving mother, she was unable to have a D&C, also known as dilation and curettage, for six days. During that time, she began to bleed heavily and experienced something horrific.
Ashley says she was turned away at the hospital.
She claims in her post that the hospital told her there was nothing they could do at that point in her miscarriage, and they wished her the best.
"After returning home, I ended up delivering my daughter at 5:05pm in my bathroom, just in time for the after-hours answering service at my OB to be turned on. A few minutes later, I ended up hemorrhaging, lost 1/3 of my total blood volume, and lost consciousness," she recalls.
Ashley finally had an emergency D&C after she was taken to Maple Grove Hospital by ambulance. She felt she was brushed off and says her dog received better care at the vet.
Crocheting became her therapy.
Ashley explains on the GoFundMe page that the emotional struggle was horrible. "I share these details, because as terrible as my health care experience was, the most painful moment was walking out of the hospital empty handed, through the same hospital doors that all the other parents were exiting with their car seats and bundles of joy. I don't know how to describe this feeling, besides it was the absolute f—ing worst."
So she began to crochet and had the idea to share her love with other women so they know someone cares about them in what is likely one of the most challenging times of their life.
"When I bring a blanket to a patient, I say this is from Ashley, she wants you to know you are surrounded by light and love and that she doesn't want you to feel so alone," she told CBS News Philadelphia.
Ashley is just one person, but she is on a mission.
She notes in her GoFundMe post that she wants change and support for women. "I can't prevent miscarriages, remodel the hospital doors, or redesign the US health care system overnight, but I could at least try to create cozy blankets so fewer women had to experience walking out of the hospital empty handed," she wrote.
"For round 1, I completed 11 blankets and worked with Maple Grove hospital to distribute to them to women at their time of need. My contact there recently texted me, shared how comforting they were to her patients, and asked if this could continue."
She's raised $7,000 of a $10,000 goal and cannot wait to crochet more blankets.
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Pregnancy loss is more common than many people may think.
According to the March of Dimes, 10% to 20% of pregnancies end in miscarriage, and 80% occur before the 12th week in the first trimester. A pregnancy loss in the second trimester occurs in 1% to 5% of pregnancies, and pregnancy loss after 20 weeks is considered stillbirth.
"Miscarriage is very common. Some research suggests that more than 30 percent of pregnancies end in miscarriage, and many end before a person even knows they're pregnant. Most people who miscarry go on to have a healthy pregnancy later," the March of Dimes explains.
