Mother turns tragedy into strength, advocates for families who experience infant loss

By Waverle Monroe

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    OMAHA, Nebraska (KETV) — One mother’s tragedy is giving her the strength to speak up and advocate for others.

Hailee Koltis is hoping to bring a one-of-a-kind birthing and bereavement suite to Omaha, hoping it can help families welcome and say goodbye to their babies.

“It’s almost like a stranger in this photo because I didn’t know what was coming,” Koltis said.

Koltis was 28 weeks pregnant in 2023, but just weeks later, her baby bliss would soon be shattered.

“Around 33 weeks, I was working at home. It was a normal day. I didn’t feel great, but I didn’t think anything of it,” Koltis said. “I had a placenta abruption.”

The medical emergency cut off oxygen and nutrients from her fourth daughter, Lainie. Koltis drove herself to Methodist Women’s Hospital and had an emergency cesarean section on Dec. 11.

Lainie was born not breathing that same day. Koltis said the doctors would bring her back after 20 minutes of CPR, but she wasn’t able to breathe on her own.

“Me waking up from a C-section wondering why they’re not talking about Lainie was shocking,” Koltis said. “We spent 10 precious hours with her before she went to heaven.”

Afterward, Koltis would describe a world turned upside down.

“While we were planning funeral arrangements for our daughter, we were hearing healthy baby cries down the hall,” Koltis said.

She was discharged almost a week after Lainie died.

“Leaving the hospital without my baby was the scariest thing I’ve ever had to face,” Koltis said.

At home, her husband, Lucas, would bring up the organization No Foot Too Small, but she wasn’t ready until founder Robin Boudreau reached out. Koltis then had a change of heart.

The two have something they both share: Boudreau founded No Foot Too Small after she lost her own son, Beau, in 2013.

“This necklace is actually the footprint of my son, Beau,” Boudreau said.

One of the nonprofit’s goals is to create birthing and bereavement suites. The suites are born out of the need for spaces that are designed for families that don’t get to take their babies home.

“What are all of those things that encompass the care of this family that just need to look different? We can start with providing the space,” Boudreau said.

Boudreau said the suites were a new concept.

“When we founded No Foot Too Small and set out to build these birthing and bereavement suites nationwide, they did not exist in the United States,” Boudreau said.

“Omaha doesn’t have anything like that. We have the best hospitals in the world; why aren’t we giving spaces like this to moms,” Koltis said.

Boudreau has a plan to hopefully change that. She’s already partnered with a local hospital to bring the first birthing and bereavement suite to Omaha.

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