• Emma Kelly

• Healthy Birth Day, Inc.
  Board Member

Emma’s hope and mission is to keep as many women and infants safe during pregnancy and from enduring the tragic loss of a baby. She aims to fight for research and awareness for infant and maternal mortality as well as provide resources for families who have already suffered from miscarriages and stillbirths.

This mission developed shortly after Emma and her husband, Ryan, endured the loss of their daughter, Mary Kate, halfway through her pregnancy in 2021. While Emma’s loss was in her second trimester, she would go on to connect and learn the stories of so many women’s losses that should have been prevented through sharing her own story of loss publicly. Emma is an Indiana Resident. According to CDC Wonder, Indiana loses approximately 502 babies to stillbirth each year.

Emma first connected with Count the Kicks as part of an NFL league wide campaign, My Cause My Cleats, where her husband, Ryan Kelly, the Center for the Indianapolis Colts, chose to partner with Count the Kicks for the initiative, which was featured during the primetime Sunday Night Football game during week 13 against the Dallas Cowboys. Emma and Ryan’s interview for the My Cause My Cleats campaign featuring their loss and their partnership with CTK was featured on NBC Sports.

Since the cleats aired on Monday Night Football, Count the Kicks app downloads have increased 40% (and counting!) in Indiana and increased 30% overall, with one recorded baby save since. Their interview for Count the Kicks and My Cause My Cleats was originally published via IndyStar and featured on USA Today.

Emma currently serves as the Community Engagement and Events Planner for the Women of the Colts for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Emma is the creator and author of ByEmmaKelly.com, a website and blog devoted to her unborn daughter, Mary Kate, and a resource for loss and grief. She is involved with over a dozen loss organizations locally and nationally, in which she aids in fundraising, event planning, and raising awareness.

Emma Kelly joined the Healthy Birth Day, Inc. Board of Directors in 2023, and comes to us with a decade of experience in IT and Marketing while working for Synchrony Financial, formerly GE Capital. Emma and Ryan’s story of loss has been featured in USA Today, CNN and People Magazine.

Op/Ed: “I lost my unborn daughter. I’m working to make sure other moms don’t feel my pain.”

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