Maria Campbell, who has lost three babies to miscarriage and stillbirth, shares how her grief became a ministry accompanying Catholic families through pregnancy loss. She explains how miscarriage supply kits from Covenant Resources Miscarriage Ministry help parents recover and bury their baby's remains with dignity, and what rights parents have under Iowa law for babies lost before 20 weeks. Maria also shares plans for Little Souls Cemeteries across the Diocese of Des Moines, giving every family, even those who lost a baby decades ago, a place to remember and pray.
For Respect Life Month, Maria Campbell joins her husband, Deacon Mark Campbell, for a heartfelt conversation about miscarriage, stillbirth, and how the Church can accompany grieving families. As many as one in five known pregnancies ends in miscarriage, yet few parents know what to expect or what options they have.
Maria shares her own story, two miscarriages in 2002 and 2003 and a stillbirth at 26 weeks in 2012, and the hurtful comments she heard along the way ("at least you can get pregnant"). After years of quietly walking with mothers who found their way to her, she met Rebecca Harpring of Covenant Resources Miscarriage Ministry at the National Eucharistic Congress and knew what she was being called to do. With the Knights of Columbus behind her, she launched a miscarriage ministry at the Basilica of St. John in Des Moines that is now spreading across the diocese and the state.
She walks through the miscarriage supply kits the ministry provides, usually within 24 hours: practical recovery supplies, medical-grade burial containers sized by gestation, burial wraps sewn from donated wedding gowns, and a QR code linking to step-by-step guidance. Maria explains that families can hold a funeral and burial for a baby lost at any stage, and that in Iowa, babies lost before 20 weeks may be buried on private property or on a family member's grave.
The ministry's next step is building Little Souls Cemeteries: dedicated burial sections for babies lost before 20 weeks, with memorial tiles where families who never had remains to bury can still place their baby's name. Five cemeteries in the Diocese of Des Moines have donated land, and with Bishop William Joensen's encouragement, the ministry is raising funds through the Catholic Foundation of Southwest Iowa for granite, concrete, and benches.
How to help: host kits at your parish, become a parish point person, join the fundraising effort, give, or invite Maria to speak to your parish, pro-life group, Knights of Columbus council, or altar and rosary society. Learn more at Covenant Resources Miscarriage Ministry, read about the Little Souls Cemetery project from the Diocese of Des Moines, or contact Maria directly at maria.campbell@msn.com.
Heard on the Catholic Morning Show, weekdays at 7 a.m. Central on Iowa Catholic Radio. More at IowaCatholicRadio.com.
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