After their own pregnancy loss, Chase and Fernanda Sheridan recognized that the U.S. maternal healthcare system was structurally insufficient in caring for women in subsequent pregnancies. The prenatal standard of care is not enough to care for mothers that get pregnant after a loss. Patients are five times more at risk of another pregnancy loss or other adverse outcomes including prematurity, low birth weight, and others. 

Rather than build a standalone support organization, Fernanda worked with industry experts to embed support into clinical practice. She brought a proven specialized-care model — pioneered internationally by Dr. Alex Heazell at the University of Manchester called the Rainbow Clinic™ — into the United States. She personally trained the country’s first two specialized clinics before partnering with Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialists at the University of Utah’s Stillbirth Center of Excellence, Mount Sinai, and Columbia University. Fellow loss parent and executive director of The Iris Fund also joined this effort. Together, they architected a definitive U.S. medical blueprint for Pregnancy After Loss.

Seven years ago today, the loss of her daughter, Natalie, to stillbirth was a moment that changed the trajectory of her life. Rather than accepting this systemic failure, Fernanda and her husband Chase sought answers. Because of their ongoing commitment, Natalie’s legacy is not just a memory. It is woven into the physical walls of the specialized PAL clinics, its clinicians, and thousands of families who can safely bring their babies home.