Hannah's Heart

Many couples today are told that third-party sperm or egg donors are their only path to biological children. But is this option Biblical? What sort of psychological/emotional impact does it have on the children born in this way? Special guest Jennifer Friesen is the Director of Operations at Them Before Us and is the author of “My Daddy’s Name is Donor,” an article examining a study on young adults conceived by sperm donation. Find the full article here: https://thembeforeus.com/my-daddys-name-is-donor-study/

Julie West and Savannah Tucker tell their stories about how God led them to start a ministry to families of children with disabilities.

Anne and Kendra share their testimonies of coming to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior as well as talking infertility during the Easter season. Spring brings all the feels as we see every animal ready to have babies and we are still waiting, but because He lives we can face tomorrow.

Andrea Powell returns to the program with an update on continuing challenges to motherhood after child loss.

President Trump's mention of IVF during the recent State of the Union address has led to a renewed interest in the subject. Anne and Kendra discuss the issues and ethics of invitro fertilization.

Anne welcomes her friend, John Darnell, into the studio to talk about the missionary sending agency Global Outreach.

When Kelly lost her own sweet baby, something inside her snapped. She’d always been prolife but now the desire to defend and protect the unborn was burning inside her. Some may say she was just a stay at home mom. But when she said “yes” to Jesus, she started on an incredible journey.

Kim Smith tells her story of infertility which lasted 11 years and included miscarriages. That struggle led Kim and her husband to pursue adoption, and their adoption journey led Kim to start an adoption consulting agency, Cradled in Grace.

Anne and Kendra react to some exciting, terrifying, wonderful, awful news stories about whats going on in the world of fertility medicine. Links to articles below: https://www.heritage.org/life/commentary/designer-embryos-and-kids-born-the-dna-throuple-parents-understanding-the-depraved https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/video/three-parent-ivf-leads-to-birth-of-8-healthy-babies-without-mitochondrial-disease/ https://www.liveaction.org/news/preemie-born-22-weeks-miracle?fbclid=IwY2xjawP5nKVleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETExeWl1Z0swWU1MckVRSHAxc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHko4_uqm5gOb_-_asZt5zstxHlxwLHzQKrWAmrQNadwHiNephyJx4TlhDyDP_aem_SOjsT0FW6_G8--Bcw47k3w https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1327754086057474&id=100064686851503&mibextid=wwXIfr&rdid=GgORjdyLwE4FBN8B# https://www.facebook.com/groups/252029351211252/posts/686774627736720/ https://www.liveaction.org/news/beautiful-family-photos-feature-baby-boy-who-had-prenatal-spina-bifida-surgery https://www.liveaction.org/news/embryos-ivf-killed-worn-jewelry

guest Ashley Opliger, author of the book, Cradled in Hope, returns to dicuss her chapter about about spiritual warfare after childloss.

Kelly’s precious baby girl died in her sleep at only 6 months old. And yet….somehow through God’s grace and a whole lot of worship music, this precious family has found peace in the storm. Kelly offers so much encouragement for any mom who has faced child loss.

Anne and Kendra talk with You are My Miracle author Alice Matagora. The book, written for children, helps parents explain to their kids their efforts and strong desire to have a baby.

Sabrina and Jase Wilbanks join Anne and Kendra to tell their story of a miracle birth after her water broke at just 17 weeks. Doctors strongly recommended abortion or induced labor. But the Wilbanks chose the 3rd option: go home and pray for a miracle.

Kristen McDaniel joins us to discuss nutrition and dietary dos and don'ts for someone struggling with infertility and PCOS. We hope you learn a lot and get encouraged for healthy habits for the new year!

Mercy Like Morning author Jane Johnson shares her story as she prepares to be the keynote speaker at our first ever Hannah's Heart Conference beginning January 30, 2026. Learn more and register for the conference at AFA.net/Events.

Ideally, the holidays bring joy and togetherness, but for many people the holidays are a painful reminder of unmet expectation, family loss and other things. Anne and Kendra offer godly encouragement for the holidays.

Kendra and Anne talk with Jenn Fowler, author of the book, "how Can I Not.

Today on Hannah’s Heart, Kendall shares her story of loss and hope. In a single moment, her life changed—turning her from new wife to widow. She reflects on the deep love she shared with her first husband and how his memory still lives on each day. Now, through God’s grace, Kendall is walking in a new chapter with a husband who honors both her heart and the life she lost.

Bev Johnson's 9th child, Verity, was diagnosed before birth with Edwards Syndrome, a condition many doctors consider incompatible with life. Even so, Beverly and her husband fell in love with Verity and let her live. They even started a ministry, Mama Bear Care, which provides support for families who receive a life-limiting diagnosis for their babies from diagnosis to delivery and beyond.

Lauren Daniel’s second baby, Eden, died before birth. Although the loss was no fault of her own, Lauren experienced anger and shame. God brought her through her struggle and has used her pain to encourage other women.

Quinet and Ari Tukes found the answer to their prayers in Christian adoption assistance programs, and now their baby Hannah is a talking, praying toddler.

“You are not broken!” Alex told his wife and suddenly Jamie began to weep. Long ago, a doctor had harshly told her that she would never conceive due to her autoimmune disease; and his words had clung to her like chains. But the God who knit Jamie together in her own mother’s womb had something miraculous in store for her. Listen to the Lee family as they share their story of infertility, loss, surrender and trusting God in the face of impossible odds.

“You are not broken!” Alex told his wife and suddenly Jamie began to weep. Long ago, a doctor had harshly told her that she would never conceive due to her autoimmune disease; and his words had clung to her like chains. But the God who knit Jamie together in her own mother’s womb had something miraculous in store for her. Listen to the Lee family as they share their story of infertility, loss, surrender and trusting God in the face of impossible odds.

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness. Kendra and Anne share from their personal stories of loss and how they have clung to Christ along the way.

Will and Bethany Whitfield join us to share about their sweet Benjamin. At Bethany’s anatomy scan she found out information about her sweet baby that no parent ever imagines they will hear. Will and Bethany were faced with decisions they didn’t ever picture as being part of their story. Follow along to hear how Jesus answered prayers even in the midst of the worst days.

Will and Bethany Whitfield join us to share about their sweet Benjamin. At Bethany’s anatomy scan she found out information about her sweet baby that no parent ever imagines they will hear. Will and Bethany were faced with decisions they didn’t ever picture as being part of their story. Follow along to hear how Jesus answered prayers even in the midst of the worst days.

Pastor Matt Powell comes on to talk about the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk. Pastor Matt shares the heaviness that we as fellow believers have felt over Kirk’s death, but also the celebration of death we have seen since September 10. We discuss how the evilness of it all feels like a weight more than we can carry. Pastor Matt shares some personal testimony of loss and the physical and spiritual effects this broken world has caused him and his family.

Beka Clayton lost her baby, Miles, when she was just 19 weeks pregnant. But her story on social medial has helped other grieving mothers, including co-host Anne Cockrell.

Beka Clayton lost her baby, Miles, when she was just 19 weeks pregnant. But her story on social medial has helped other grieving mothers, including co-host Anne Cockrell.

Emily Lott comes on to tell her story of infertility and multiple losses. She shares intimate details of what her losses were to walk through and how she finally came to a point of full surrender to the Lord. She shares how when she “got out of the way” the Lord began His amazing work in her life. We learn such encouraging information about adoption fundraisers and look forward to having Emily back on with an update of how the Lord continues to work through her story.

This week, Anne and Kendra introduce the second annual Bibles for Babies campaign. This campaign started in 2024 in memory of Anne’s baby John-Micah, who passed away in 2023. This gives moms an opportunity to honor their babies in heaven by donating in their memory, and providing a New Beginners Bible for moms with unexpected pregnancies at Parkgate Pregnancy center. https://afr.net/biblesforbabies

Hannah Meador comes on to share about her very recent loss. She opens up about feeling like she doesn’t deserve to grieve for this baby because she was “so early” and she already has one healthy baby. If you’ve walked through loss at any point you know this is not the case. One early loss is a life that was loss way too soon.

Walk with you advocates for families navigating the death of a child to ensure families can honor their child’s life in a way that leave no room for regrets.

AFA’s own Ed and Dianne Vitagliano come on to share their story of loss. Dianne experienced loss many years ago, however, she was willing to share how that loss still affects her today. Ed mentions how one thing he would change in his life would be to have more children and wonders who that little baby would be today. Ed and Dianne walked through loss when it was not a popular subject to bring up at the dinner table. She shares how that impacted her and how she was able to grieve the life of her unborn baby.

Ashley O joins us for a second time to tell more about her book, Cradled and Hope, that was recently released. It is a book written in memory of her sweet baby Bridget, who passed away in 2014. Ashley desires to encourage other loss moms to clean to Jesus as they walk through the unimaginable loss of a child.

The doctors warned Ashley her baby may be stillborn. Ashley's mother responded to God's prompting and turned a knit baby blanket into a tiny crib for baby Bridgette. Even though the baby went to Heaven before she was born, the crib added some dignity to a tragic situation. Now, hospitals everywhere are requesting knit cribs for premature and stillborn babies, and Bridgette's memory lives on.

Jackie Gibson returns for a part two of her story to continue her story of child loss. She shares about special ways she remembers her sweet Leila and encourages others to make ways to remember their babies in heaven. Jackie’s husband has also authored a childrens’ book to help siblings after loss. The Moon is Always Round is a precious book to honor Leila and also help children understand that God is always good even when life doesn’t feel too good.

Author and mother, Jackie Gibson comes on to share her personal story of loss. She knows all too well what tragedy looks like when it comes to losing a baby. She honors her sweet baby girl, Leila’s, story throughout her interview. In her book, Jackie invites women to cling to the Lord as they walk through the hardest days of their life. She is an inspiration to anyone who knows what it’s like to say goodbye to their baby before they ever get to say “Hello.”

Mary Todd Gordon continues her story of God's grace after her reality was shaken by postpartum psychosis.

We have touched on the subject of postpartum depression from time to time. This discussion deals with the very real issue of postpartum psychosis. Our guest Mary Todd Gordon shares how God intervened after this issue strained her marriage and threatened her family's wellbeing.

Women waiting to be moms may idealize motherhood in their imaginations. But, new mothers may be surprised to find that, in reality, children are sinners, just like the rest of us. It seems they have an in-born capacity for naughtiness. Kendra and Anne discuss the patience, creativity and prayer required to deal with their children's sin nature.

Nothing could prepare Rebecca Davis for the moment they couldn't find a heartbeat on the ultrasound. But one sweet couple who acknowledged their loss brought encouragement and kindness in an unexpected and small way. This powerful episode explores Rebecca's story as she reflects on her miscarriage from many years ago.

Pastor Andrew Maddox gives some helpful hints to churches which would like to help local foster care workers, parents and children. Pastor Andrew found and excellent use for spare space in the church and now the entire foster care community in his area is benefitting from the Wrap Closet of Giles County.

Lindsey Chaney tells her story

Natalie Ritchie

Anne and Kendra welcome guests Emily Brooks and Lauren Watson into the studio and discuss emotions of moms or people hoping to become moms as Mothers Day approaches.