Quote from Oladosun Joshua Segun on June 16, 2025, 6:26 PM

Michael and Emma Armstrong are mourning a heartbreaking loss. At 37 weeks into Emma's pregnancy, their son, Zen Diamond Love, was stillborn. Michael shared on Instagram that Emma noticed a lack of movement in her belly, and, after an ultrasound, doctors found no heartbeat. Despite thorough medical checks, no clear reason for the tragedy was discovered.

"My wife woke up and noticed there wasn't movement in her belly," on June 14, Michael posted on Instagram. "She intuitively felt something was off. A couple hours later, we got an ultrasound, and the doctors found no heartbeat."

Emma endured a 37-hour labor before delivering Zen May 23, and the couple waited until birth to learn their baby's sex, finding solace in meeting their son. Michael expressed admiration for Emma’s strength and devotion, while Emma shared the shock and sorrow of losing the child she had spent months preparing for.

"There was no sign of what went wrong," he explained. "His ultrasound, body and placenta all looked good. As we've learned, sometimes this just happens, and 1/3 of the time no cause is ever discovered."

He continued by praising his wife and highlighting the fact that she gave birth to their son. "With such grace and love, singing to him each night and morning in bed."

"She brought him into the world with fierce devotion," he went on. "She's been traveling through this heartbreak and physical pain with unwavering courage. She feels it all fully. I am inspired by her."

Emma is coming to terms with this new reality.

"I must have spent hours every day just imagining all the things I would do with my baby and the mother I would get to be," she revealed. "We were preparing for the happiest day our life and instead we got our worst."

"This is not a share about some silver lining or Gods plan though I have felt the divinity and love like a breath for air that desperately gasp for while I drown," she went on. "This is me sharing my shock. For any human that has felt the ground ripped from underneath them. For any mother that has lost her baby. The shock, denial, confusion, longing, love and unbearable heartbreak of a loss like this all gets a seat at the table."

As Father's Day passed, the couple honored Zen’s memory, with Emma celebrating Michael’s role as a father despite their loss. Their story sheds light on the painful reality of stillbirth, a grief that many parents face without clear answers.

Father's Day looked tragically different for the pair than they had anticipated.

"Blessings to you, my beloved, on your first Father's Day. I celebrate the powerfully embodied father you are," Emma wrote June 15. "Thank you for giving us Zen. I love you with all of me."

Since the first time she revealed they were expecting in January, she has felt this love.

"I know I've spent lifetimes and lifetimes preparing to be your mother," the next month, she wrote. "Growing you in my womb has already been the biggest transformation of my life and we are only halfway there. The excitement of finally being reunited with you, earthside. To smell your skin, to look into your eyes, to hold you in my arms fills my heart with complete wonder and a love beyond time and space."