#23 Damani’s story and Creating a Baby Loss Community in Jamaica with Crystal-Gayle Williams

In this week’s episode of Footprints on our Hearts, I talk to Crystal-Gayle Williams about her son, Damani and creating a baby loss community in Jamaica.

Damani was delivered very prematurely after Crystal-Gayle developed sudden, severe pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome and sadly passed away two days after birth. After Damani’s death, Crystal-Gayle searched for a baby loss community in Jamaica and found nothing. So she set one up!

In the interview, we talk about:

• Getting pregnant and her pregnancy (9:35)
• Developing severe pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome and being told she’d have to have an emergency c-section (12:51)
• Preparing for her surgery, waking up and being unable to see her son (22:55)
• Finally seeing Damani on the day he died, two days after his birth (26:30)
• What support she received from the hospital after Damani died and why baby loss is a taboo subject in Jamaica (34:40)
• Her experience of grief in the early weeks and months and creating 4Damani (40:25)
• When she first started to speak out about her experience, creating a baby loss community and campaigning to get Jamaica to recognise pregnancy and infant loss awareness month (48:06)

You can connect with Crystal-Gayle and learn more about 4Damani on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter or on her website https://4damani.wordpress.com/.

I found this conversation with Crystal-Gayle hugely inspiring and I hope that wherever you are in the world and whatever you experience of baby loss, it helps you feel a bit less alone in your grief.

If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a rating or review! I do read them, and it helps inspire me to keep putting out these weekly episodes. You can get in touch with me on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/footprintsonourhearts/) or Twitter (https://twitter.com/skyesfootprints) or email alison@footprintsonourhearts.com.