E33 – Mental Health & Loss: Harnessing Lived Experience into Advocacy

About this episode

In this episode of BrainSTEM, Dr. Hilary Marusak and co-host Lauren Rosenberg, a developmental scientist who coordinates anxiety clinical trials in the THINK Lab, talk with Monica Sholar Anderson, a nonprofit founder, mental health advocate, and community health worker.  Monica founded Remembering Cherubs, Detroit’s only resource center focused solely on supporting parents after pregnancy and infant loss. She shares her own story of loss and how it led her to this work, the moment she saw a gap in support that no one else was filling, and how pregnancy loss can affect someone emotionally, physically, and socially long after the loss itself. Hilary, who has also experienced pregnancy loss and has followed Monica’s work for nearly a decade, talks with her about why social support matters so much in grief and what that support looks like in practice.  The conversation then turns to Black women’s health. Remembering Cherubs leads a community initiative focused on Black women’s health, and Detroit Mayor Sheffield recently declared August Black Women’s Health Month. Monica talks about the health disparities Black women face across the US, what she sees driving them, and the five focus areas behind this year’s Black Women’s Health Month events in Detroit. She also has a message for researchers: how to make sure Black women are represented in pregnancy loss studies, and that their experiences shape the questions being asked.  We recorded this conversation just before October, Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. It’s a story about turning grief into community, and about what it would take for every person who goes through a loss to feel seen, heard, and supported.  🔗 Topics Covered  Monica’s story and the path from personal loss to founding Remembering Cherubs  The emotional, physical, and social effects of pregnancy loss, and why they can last so long  Why social support matters after a loss, and what it looks like in practice  Health disparities facing Black women in the US and what drives them  Detroit’s Black Women’s Health Month and its five priority focus areas  How researchers can better include Black women in pregnancy loss research  What meaningful change would look like beyond representation, in outcomes and experiences of care  What needs to change so everyone experiencing pregnancy loss feels seen, heard, and supported  📢 Follow us on Instagram @brainstempodcast to submit questions.  🎧 Available now on Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts. Full video episodes on YouTube.  📄 Learn more:  Remembering Cherubs: https://www.rememberingcherubs.org/   Follow Monica and Remembering Cherubs: @rememberingcherubs and @monicasholar_anderson  🌱 Where to find support and community:  Postpartum Support International, Loss & Grief in Pregnancy & Postpartum (free peer support groups): https://www.postpartum.net/get-help/loss-grief-in-pregnancy-postpartum/ · HelpLine: call or text 1-800-944-4773  National Maternal Mental Health Hotline (24/7, call or text): 1-833-852-6262  Sisters in Loss: https://sistersinloss.com  Star Legacy Foundation: https://starlegacyfoundation.org  Share Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support: https://nationalshare.org  Your local NAMI chapter: https://www.nami.org  ❤️‍🩹 Help is available 24 hours a day at the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988.  🧠 BrainSTEM is hosted by neuroscientist Dr. Hilary Marusak, with co-host Lauren Rosenberg for this episode. Manmeet Bhogal is the Technical Producer and Web Developer. Social media assistance from Amanpreet Bhogal, Gabby Maramag, and Natalie Thurston.  This podcast is made possible by the generous support of the Society for Neuroscience and the Michigan Society for Neuroscience.  🎙️ Subscribe, share, and follow us! Visit www.brainSTEMpodcast.com.