Rev. Dr. Colie Bettivia: Pregnancy & Infant Loss

October is Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness month, and October 15th was Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. In honor of that, we invited Rev. Dr. Colie Bettivia to come on the podcast to talk about why this topic is so personal and important to her. She shares her own experience and talks about what to say and what not to say when someone you know is going through the trials of pregnancy and loss.

Pregnancy loss is defined differently around the world, but in general a baby who dies before 28 weeks of pregnancy is referred to as a miscarriage, and babies who die at or after 28 weeks are stillbirths. I read that, for women that know they are pregnant, miscarriage happens in 10-15% of pregnancies, but that number could actually be closer to half. All that comes to 1 in 4 women experiencing pregnancy and infant loss. Looking at these numbers - it is clearly incredibly common, and yet we don’t talk about it. We are so grateful to Rev. Dr. Colie for coming on to break the silence and help us understand just how common it is, how to offer support to others, and, for those who have experienced loss themselves, to know they are not alone.
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Rev. Dr. Colie Bettivia serves as a co-pastor of Grace Congregational United Church of Christ, in Two Rivers WI, and has been there since 2013. She grew up in Glen Ellyn, a suburb of Chicago. She has a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Illinois and a Master of Divinity from Lancaster Theological Seminary, and in May of 2020, graduated with a Doctor of Ministry degree from Lancaster Theological Seminary. Her doctoral research project was a study on Millennials in church and is titled: "Hello, We're Here! Active Participation in Traditional Church Congregations by Those in the Millennial Generation." She lives in Two Rivers with her husband, Tobin, and their young son, Lincoln. Together, they enjoy running, hiking, and trying new foods.