The Due Time Production Update
- Helen Raleigh
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Dear The Due Time interviewees and supporters,
A lot has happened since our June update.
Silicon Valley in June
At the end of June, Director Susan and I interviewed Kathryn Zealand and Jann Spiess in Silicon Valley. They were the 18th and 19th loss parents we’ve filmed. Their first son, Ziggy, was stillborn on June 29, 2025.
Like so many of the loss moms we interviewed, Kathryn had what seemed to be a healthy pregnancy. It was during early labor that doctors could not detect Ziggy’s heartbeat. After losing Ziggy, Kathryn and Jann went looking for answers.
They have since founded a startup called Project Stardust and are developing wearable monitoring devices to more closely track a baby’s health in pregnancy. Their mission is to “help other parents go home with living children rather than empty hearts.”
I am happy to share that in July, Kathryn and Jann welcomed their second child, a healthy boy named Finn.
San Diego in August
In August, Director Susan and I traveled to San Diego to interview Dr. Mana Parast, who leads perinatal pathology at UC San Diego. Sitting with her, and later walking through her lab, it became clear why her work matters so much to this film. She studies what the placenta can tell us after a stillbirth or a cord accident. Her lab also uses stem cells to recreate placenta-based problems in a dish — including preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction — so researchers can understand them more precisely.
She has also helped build the Center for Perinatal Discovery at UC San Diego with colleagues in obstetrics, gynecology, and neonatology. The aim is simple and ambitious: put people from different fields in the same room to study the placenta and the pregnancy complications it can help explain, stillbirth among them.
After the interview, Dr. Parast showed us around her lab and introduced us to her team: three lovely, talented young scientists in training.
We are grateful for the time they gave us. Seeing their work left me more hopeful than ever that we can — and will — end preventable stillbirth.
What’s next
I am now planning a major filming trip with Director Susan and two other cinematographers. We will travel across the country again between late September and early October, gathering supplemental footage of our interviewees and interviewing additional medical experts and researchers. The film trip will cover five states: California, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, and Utah.
September 19 is National Stillbirth Awareness Day. It is also the one-year anniversary of the day I first launched this documentary. I could not have come this far without your love and support.
We are making real progress, but we still face challenges — especially financial ones. Every dollar helps us get closer to the finish line. Every donation is tax-deductible, and all donors will be recognized in the film’s credits.
If you are able to give, you can donate here: https://givebutter.com/theduetime
Please also help us spread the word.
Thank you!
With love,
Helen
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