Minnesota mother launches nonprofit to support grieving parents

MN mother starts nonprofit after stillbirth

After Mikaela and Michael Fenger lost their son at 35 weeks due to issues in the umbilical cord, they launched a nonprofit to help parents who went through what they experienced.

MONTEVIDEO, Minn. (FOX 9) - Last September, Mikaela and Micahel Fenger lost their son, Kolt, at 35 weeks due to unforeseen issues in the umbilical cord.

"I got a package in the mail that had a baby blanket, a baby onesie, and a baby hat, and it was like...this is not what I want [right now]" said Fenger.

After that experience, she knew she wanted to do more for mothers who have had a similar loss. Fenger recently launched the Keep Our Littles Ticking Foundation in honor of Kolt.

"It's helping me through my grieving process helping other mothers," explained Fenger.

The nonprofit aims to support newly bereaved parents dealing with miscarriages, stillbirths or infant loss. They send out care packages full of sensitive items and angelic birthday cards to families.

In addition to the work of the foundation, Fenger hopes to one day work on legislation that would require insurance companies to cover 3D, Level Two ultrasounds for all expecting mothers.

"We think that if we would have gotten a 3D anatomy ultrasound, it [the issue] would have been caught," said Fenger.

In the few short months they've been up and running, Fenger says they've already connected with more than two dozen families and hope to reach many more across Minnesota and beyond.