Problem Pregnancy

Finding Healing and Hope

When a baby is lost through a miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death, most mothers and fathers need to be given "permission to grieve". Receiving permission to grieve and acknowledging the loss are crucial. Otherwise, one can get stuck in denial, repressed emotions or depression, which can greatly impact one's spiritual, emotional, or physical health.Too often, well-meaning individuals minimize the loss- as if, somehow, the fact that the child was never carried to term makes him or her unimportant (or, at least, far less important). Yet the grief and sense of loss can be just as strong and prolonged as with the death of an older child or relative. The cycle of grief needs to be accepted and completed in order for healing to occur.

Many who have studied the grief process delineated five stages one must navigate:

• shock and denial

• anger

• depression and detachment

• dialogue and bargaining

• and finally, acceptance.

It is important to note that these stages are seldom experienced in a linear progression, but rather tend to occur in spiraling cycles until the loss is resolved.

Source: Permission to Grieve (Focus on the Family)

If you are dealing with these or other common reactions to miscarriage or infant loss, we can help. Contact us and begin your journey on the road of recovery.

Journey of Hope: A Perinatal Hospice

Individual and/or family support for parents of unborn babies diagnosed with a fatal birth defect

When a parent finds out their baby has a fatal birth defect. feelings of disbelief, hurt, and anger often overwhelm them. Journey of hope helps women and their families by sharing their heartaches and fears, gently guiding them through the grieving process and on to recovery.

We offer assistance in the following areas:

• Keepsake planning and memory albums

• Perinatal education and development of birth plan

• Support and Education for extended family and friends

• Labor Support

• Funeral Planning Assistance

• Continued Grief Care (Silver Linings Support Group)

*This information is intended for general education purposes only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional and/or medical advice.