By Haley & Brice Wiggs
Parents to Izzy Lynn Catherine
Anencephaly
August 23, 2025
Our journey to get pregnant was not easy. We are only able to get pregnant through IVF, and this pregnancy was our second IVF baby.
We found out about Izzy Lynn’s diagnosis of anencephaly at our anatomy scan. Because we were an IVF pregnancy, we had our scan with Maternal Fetal Medicine at 24 weeks. That is when we received the news that our sweet Izzy Lynn had a fatal diagnosis.
Thankfully, the doctor we spoke with that day was very informative and as direct as she could be. She covered all of our options with us and let us know that we could terminate at that time or continue with the pregnancy. She also explained that if we chose to continue, Izzy Lynn could pass at any point during the pregnancy or be stillborn; regardless, she would pass shortly after birth.
We are very thankful she covered those options, but something my husband and I had talked about long before even getting pregnant with our first baby was that we would never terminate unless it impacted my health and safety. We lean heavily on our faith in God and believe it is not our decision to make when our baby’s heart stops. We had that same mindset the moment we were given her diagnosis.
From there, we were referred to the doctors at the Fetal Care Institute at Cardinal Glennon.
After meeting with our high-risk doctor there, we had a better understanding of what anencephaly was and what it meant for our daughter. We didn’t set ourselves up to expect much. We chose to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
We talked through what we hoped for, and it became very simple. We hoped she would make it to the next day in the pregnancy. We hoped she would make it to full term, knowing that only a small percentage of babies with anencephaly do. And ultimately, we hoped she would be alive at birth so we could spend even a moment on earth with her.
When we were told about Izzy Lynn’s diagnosis, our fears immediately shifted. We worried about whether this could impact our ability to have more children or if future babies could also have this diagnosis. We watched the future we had imagined—raising our daughter alongside her brother—slip away in a matter of seconds, and there was nothing we could do about it.
The first week after finding out was such a fog. We felt lost and unsure who to turn to or how to process everything. Even in that confusion, we believed there was a reason we were given this challenge and that there was something God would teach us through it.
I remember sitting in the hospital parking lot, calling my best friend, and just crying. She prayed over us, and that alone brought so much comfort.
Our MFM doctor encouraged us to prepare for Izzy Lynn to not live long, which made us realize how important it was to cherish every second we had with her. We started recording every movement we could see in my belly. Every time I felt her move, I made sure my husband had the chance to feel her too.
Because of Izzy Lynn’s diagnosis, the likelihood of me going into labor on my own was very slim, so we were able to choose an induction date. We decided to schedule it on her due date at 40 weeks.
When we arrived at the hospital, we started with Cytotec, which I responded well to. I began contracting and dilating. After that, we used a Foley bulb to help with dilation. I spent hours walking the maternity ward, just like I had with my first delivery, trying to stay distracted and keep things progressing.
Eventually, we added Pitocin, but it didn’t help me dilate further. By the second day, we returned to Cytotec and continued walking. Once I reached around 7 centimeters, I chose to get an epidural so my body could rest. Unfortunately, it only worked on one side, but I had an incredible anesthesiologist who worked hard to keep me as comfortable as possible.
By the next morning, I was fully dilated. My water was still intact, which they had been trying to preserve to help with dilation. Once my pain was under control, they broke my water, and I pushed three times before our baby girl was stillborn.
Our labor lasted around 40 hours.
We were so blessed to have the most incredible nurses. They advocated for us every step of the way and made sure our experience was exactly what we wanted it to be. We chose not to have continuous fetal monitoring, but we were able to listen to her heartbeat when we asked and recorded those moments so we would always have them.
They asked us how we wanted everything handled after delivery—what we wanted her to wear, how we wanted to hold her, and whether we wanted them to check for signs of life before placing her skin-to-skin. We chose to have them check first.
They even coordinated timing with our On Angels’ Wings photographer so our son could be present and we could have photos of all four of us together. We were connected with On Angels’ Wings through our Fetal Care Institute doctor and the NICU team. I reached out a few weeks before our induction, and they responded right away. They made sure a photographer would be available so we wouldn’t have to worry about capturing those moments.
Our photographer arrived just 45 minutes after we let them know Izzy Lynn had been delivered. She was incredible—so patient with our one-year-old and so intentional about capturing every detail of our daughter.
After delivery, we were able to keep Izzy Lynn with us using cooling packs so we could spend time with her. The first day after her stillbirth was the hardest—knowing we would eventually have to leave the hospital without her.
When it was time to go home, our nurse walked Izzy Lynn out with us and made sure she was being watched over at the nurses’ station. That gave us a sense of comfort as we left.
It’s been nine months since Izzy Lynn was stillborn. We’ve tried to keep ourselves busy and not dwell too much on the fact that she isn’t physically here with us. We were able to have a beautiful private burial service and a celebration of life surrounded by the people who have supported us. We even released pink balloons in her memory.
Being able to do those things gave us the closure and peace we needed.
Izzy Lynn was a blessing. She was feisty in the womb and made sure we always knew she was there. She had dark brown hair and blue eyes. She was beautiful and only knew the love and warmth of her mom’s womb.
We have been given so many meaningful ways to remember her. I have a ring with baby feet and angel wings that holds her birthstone. We have memorial stones at our home and in a nearby park. A nurse made hand and foot molds for us, and we were given a baby book filled with her prints and photos. We also plan to get tattoos in her memory.
Our son is still very young, so he doesn’t fully understand that his baby sister is in heaven, but he does know that “baby is sleeping.” For us, we have leaned deeply into our faith. Knowing we are not in control and trusting God has been the only way we’ve been able to walk through this.
We have also been incredibly blessed by the outpouring of love and support from our family, friends, and even people we don’t know. So many people signed up for a meal train so we didn’t have to worry about meals after Izzy Lynn was born. The prayers and support we’ve received have carried us through.
We still have hard days—some harder than others—but we know our daughter is in her forever home.
On Angels’ Wings has been such a blessing in our lives. We haven’t yet explored all of the support they offer, but the photos alone mean everything to us. They are something we will cherish forever.
If On Angels’ Wings didn’t exist, we wouldn’t have these detailed, beautiful photos to remember our daughter by. Every detail—her hands, her feet, her face—was captured in a way we never could have imagined.
The fact that something like this exists is truly mind-blowing. Families are so blessed to have these services available to them during such difficult circumstances. These photos will always be a part of our healing and a way to hold onto our sweet Izzy Lynn.
