Jazmine Sullivan marked her 38th birthday with a heavy heart, revealing she recently suffered a miscarriage while still mourning the loss of her mother.
The “Need U Bad” singer took to her Instagram Story the day after celebrating her April 9th birthday to thank fans for their well wishes. Sullivan also opened up about her somber mood, revealing she recently experienced a miscarriage while still grappling with the loss of her mother, who passed away from cancer in July 2023.
“Whew.. thank yall for ur birthday wishes. Leading up to my birthday has been incredibly hard as I’ve been thinking abt my mother and missing her more than words can say,” the singer/songwriter wrote, as captured by People.
“I woulda have been holding my 2-month-old son that I never got to meet,” she revealed. “So needless to say, I’ve been down bad.”
Sullivan shared a glimmer of hope amid her grief, revealing that a birthday massage helped her begin to process some of the pain she’s been carrying. “It helped me release some of the deep pain I’ve been holding in for a while,” she wrote.
“So I’m grateful for that,” Sullivan added. “I’m also grateful that so many of you think of me and take the time to write! It’s all so beautiful!! Please continue to pray for me as I heal from life’s a** whooping.”
Sullivan’s mother, Pamela, passed away on July 22, 2023, at the age of 64, after a nearly four-year battle with breast cancer. On her birthday last year, Sullivan also spoke openly about the ongoing pain of grieving her loss.
“I tried so hard to keep busy for my birthday to distract myself, but I don’t think it works like that,” she wrote at the time.
“I cried all month,” Sullivan shared. “I’ll cry for the rest of my life. But I’ll also smile, laugh, and dance in between the tears! So thank God for that!”
Sullivan’s miscarriage reveal comes at the start of Black Maternal Health Week 2025, which centers on the theme: “Healing Legacies: Strengthening Black Maternal Health Through Collective Action and Advocacy.” The annual campaign, launched by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA, Inc.), aims to spotlight the impact of Black-led organizations in transforming perinatal, maternal, and reproductive healthcare while fostering collective healing and systemic change.
Among the initiative’s key focus areas are fertility and infertility—pressing issues as U.S. fertility rates hit a historic low in 2023. Research shows Black women experience higher rates of infertility than white women (11.2% vs. 7.7%) and face significant disparities in both access to and outcomes from assisted reproductive technologies. One study found that even when undergoing IVF, Black women were less likely to achieve a live birth compared to their white counterparts.
Since Black Maternal Health Week centers on collective action and community engagement, there are plenty of ways to get involved and support the movement:
- Support Birth & Reproductive Justice Organizations
- Connect with Black-led Organizations
- Volunteer and Invest
- Amplify the movement using the hashtag #BMHW25
- Follow BMMA
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