TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — When Amber Damiani suffered a miscarriage in 2016, she nearly lost her own life, too.
"I miscarried at home," she recalled, through tears. "But had to get taken to the emergency room because of the amount of bleeding I was experiencing."
The experience marked the unexpected end of her and her husband Peter's pregnancy.
It also marked the start of a journey. In 2019, Damiani founded the nonprofit We Miscarried Organization.
The organization's mission is to provide comfort and resources for families grappling with pregnancy loss — a pain she knows all too well.
The organization aims to break the silence surrounding miscarriage and offer emotional and financial support to affected families.
“Nobody talks about it until it happens to you,” Damiani explained. “We wanted to change that.”
A cornerstone of the nonprofit’s work is facilitating access to mental health resources.
Through a partnership with BetterHelp, We Miscarried provides a free month of online counseling to families.
“Some people aren’t comfortable with in-person support groups, or they might live in rural areas. This gives them an option to connect with someone who can help,” Damiani said.
The organization also helps alleviate the financial burden families face after a miscarriage, often compounded by unexpected medical bills.
Damiani recalled the $1,300 emergency room bill her family received.
“It brought us back to that dark place. Now, we fundraise to help families with expenses like that,” she said.
This month, We Miscarried marked a milestone by donating its first Caring Cradle to a local hospital.
The cradle, designed to cool an infant’s body, allows grieving families precious extra time to say goodbye.
“You expect a lifetime of memories with your child. Even a few hours can make a world of difference,” Damiani said, reflecting on her own wish to have had such a moment.
Damiani emphasized the need to support not only parents but also extended family members affected by loss. “This touches grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends. They feel the pain too,” she noted.
Faith and family remain at the heart of Damiani’s efforts. “Without my faith and my husband’s unwavering support, I couldn’t do this,” she said.
Looking ahead, Damiani dreams of expanding the organization’s reach. “I want every hospital to have a Caring Cradle and every family to feel lifted up during their darkest days,” she said.
For more information or to support We Miscarried, visit their website, wemiscarried.org.
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Eddie Celaya is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born in Tucson and raised in the Phoenix area, Eddie is a life-long Arizonan and graduate of the University of Arizona who loves the desert and mountains and hates the cold. Previously, Eddie worked in print media at the Arizona Daily Star. Share your story ideas with Eddie at edward.celaya@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook or Instagram.
