Still His Mama by Terrell Hatzilias

Still His Mama by Terrell Hatzilias

Still His Mama was inspired by the author's lived experience with stillbirth. In the fall of 2018, Dr. Terrell Hatzilias was nine months pregnant when her baby's heart suddenly stopped beating in utero. Her son, Kegan Christopher Hatzilias, was stillborn mere days before his due date. It was from his death and their family's struggle to re-integrate into a world they no longer understood that this work was born.

Still His Mama spans the worlds of fiction, memoir, medical literature review, and journaling assistant. It draws both on the author's personal experience as a bereaved mother and her professional experience as a neuroscientist and medical writer to explore the world of baby loss and its subsequent heartbreak. Through the fictionalized lens of letters between bereaved mothers as well as a scientific analysis of stillbirth and grief, the author explores topics ranging from stillbirth prevention to relationships after burying a child. This work further asks the reader to reflect upon their own grief experiences through related journaling prompts. Still His Mama offers an honest look at the world of baby loss and grief, while simultaneously offering hope for the future.