Christina Perri Wants to Raise Awareness After Pregnancy Losses to ‘Turn My Tragedy into Something Beautiful’

The “Jar of Hearts” singer tells PEOPLE she learned she has a treatable blood-clotting disorder that may have contributed to her two pregnancy losses

Christina Perri is opening up about her daughter Rosie, who died in utero in 2020, and how the heartbreaking experience has sparked her desire to raise awareness for pregnant women with blood-clotting disorders.

In the new issue of PEOPLE, the “Jar of Hearts” singer, 34, recalled her difficult healing process after suffering a late-term pregnancy loss just 10 months after miscarrying.

“There was so much anger and pain and sadness,” says Perri of losing Rosie. “And there were days I couldn’t even see a future version of me.”

Months after Rosie’s death, Perri discovered she has a treatable blood-clotting disorder that may have caused both pregnancy losses. Now, after more than a year of intense therapy, the musician has a new album (A Lighter Shade of Blue) and a new mission: to help other women avoid the anguish she experienced by raising awareness about a blood test that can detect disorders like the one she has.

“I don’t care how long it takes; I’ll never stop,” Perri tells PEOPLE. “I hope to turn my tragedy into something beautiful.”

The singer, who has 4-year-old daughter Carmella with husband Paul Costable, consulted with OB-GYN Dr. Mary Kerr about the blood-clotting disorder.

“Ninety percent of miscarriages are due to a spontaneous genetic error,” Kerr explains. “That leaves 10 percent caused by something like a blood disorder that could be prevented with something as simple as a blood thinner.”

Perri, who receives daily injections of the blood thinner Lovenox to prevent clotting, says, “Once I processed what she had told me, I was sick to my stomach for weeks.” She became consumed with researching blood-clotting disorders and finding out why the test isn’t offered to all pregnant women.

“Christina’s drive is that if potentially one out of 10 women had the opportunity to screen for disorders, that would prevent a lot of emotional trauma,” says Kerr.

Perri is petitioning the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which recommends the test only after two consecutive early pregnancy losses, for change.

“I can’t be angry at the doctors because they followed protocol,” she tells PEOPLE. “But ACOG has the power to offer that test as part of a prenatal screening to every woman in her first trimester. This is not about the past for me. It’s about saving babies.”

As she continues to move forward, some days are harder than others. “I don’t know if Paul or I will ever not feel that longing for Rosie,” says Perri, who honors Rosie with a tattoo of her name on her chest and a rose tattoo on her hand, as well as a rose tree in the garden. “But she will always be in my heart.”

[via]