I'm Arden Cartrette --
"The Miscarriage Doula"

I'm based out of North Carolina but work with clients all over the world.

From a young age, I enjoyed creative writing and showed interest in the medical field in high school. Following those interests, I worked in the pharmacy industry, as a medical assistant, and spent many years volunteering at a top hospital in my area, where I assisted with outpatient surgery patient care. My main focus in every job is ensuring the patient feels safe and cared for.

In 2017 my husband, Kerry, and I started trying to conceive. On some level, I expected it to be a difficult journey, but I equally felt shocked when a year passed and we had never been pregnant.

We began seeing a fertility specialist a year into our fertility journey, which confirmed that I wasn't ovulating on my own despite having what seemed like a regular menstrual period. So our game plan was to do medicated cycles that induced ovulation and supported a pregnancy from fertilization and implantation.

Somehow (I still refer to this as a magical pregnancy), we became pregnant without intervention. But unfortunately, it was the cycle before we were to begin our medicated protocol. Sadly that pregnancy ended in a miscarriage when I was physically ten weeks pregnant, although the baby died between weeks 6-7. We listened to our three options and decided on a D&E because the cost was relatively cheaper under our insurance plan (which, if you're reading this and living outside of the USA, you may have questions). However, the night before our scheduled procedure, I gave birth at home, and the experience forever changed me.

Giving birth at home is why I am so passionate about speaking often and loudly about the reality of pregnancy loss.

Following our first loss, we moved forward with the agreed-upon protocol and, again, became pregnant. I classified myself as the most fertile, infertile person. It seemed to happen quickly when I ovulated, but the problem was that I wasn't ovulating, diminishing my egg quality and creating other issues.

Long story short, I had a second miscarriage diagnosed as a blighted ovum. Because I had survived one miscarriage at home, I opted to take Cytotec. I eventually needed a D&C, and after I healed physically -- we did further testing to see if there was a reason why we had two consecutive miscarriages.

We learned very little from the testing, and after receiving all results, getting second opinions, and taking four cycles off from trying to conceive -- we tried again.

Cameron, my first of two living sons, was conceived following my second miscarriage with the help of the ovulation induction protocol. I spent 39 weeks and five days pregnant with him, holding my breath. After he was born, it further sparked my desire to help others navigate the grief, trauma, and impatience that come with infertility and pregnancy loss.

When Cameron was a year and a half old, we learned that I had Hashimotos. Unfortunately, my cycle was more unpredictable than before, so we jumped into another medicated cycle (thinking there would be more loss in our future) and became lucky with my second son, Cooper. Although his pregnancy was still emotionally and mentally tricky -- I survived two consecutive pregnancies and left the hospital with children in each of those pregnancies.

My expertise comes from personal experience with infertility, miscarriage, trauma, grief, and pregnancy after loss, along with my many hours of education and dedication to understanding the fertility world that way, I can help others with what I navigated on my own.

Thank you for being here -- whether it's for personal reasons or you're looking to support someone in your life. Take a look around at our offerings and don't hesitate to shoot me an email if you have any questions!

xoxo, arden