Content Warning: This post contains discussions of miscarriage and early loss. Due to its heavy content we suggest you take breaks when necessary, and check in with yourself. We also encourage you to have a support person accessible to you — whether learning alongside you, in the next room, or a phone call away.
At Brood, we believe that you can’t talk about pregnancy without talking about loss.
October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month — it’s almost certain someone in your life has been touched by pregnancy and/or infant loss. This includes miscarriage, stillbirth, infant loss and abortion. 1 in 4 pregnant people will lose a baby in pregnancy, birth or infancy. It’s estimated 23 million miscarriages occur every year worldwide — that’s 44 pregnancy losses each minute, and 2.6 million stillbirths every year.
This unimaginable loss impacts parents, families and communities for years — with many long-term physical, emotional and mental health outcomes. Most of the suffering is private, and can feel too painful to be discussed or shared. A month like Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness month aims to witness families’ experiences, honor the memory of pregnancies and babies lost, and connect those moving through these experiences.
For someone experiencing loss, receiving comprehensive support can help with the healing and recovery. A full-spectrum doula, someone trained in specialized care beyond birth and postpartum, can be present to serve and support someone during a miscarriage, abortion or stillbirth. This hands-on care can address the physical experience of loss, while providing information on counselling, grief, healing and, for some, fertility.
This month the Brood team is encouraging conversation, connection and knowledge sharing for folks who’ve experienced miscarriage or infant loss, and those who care for them. We know first hand. Our co-founder Emma, a full-spectrum doula, and our doula team have cared for dozens of families impacted by loss. Our co-founder Gill had an early pregnancy loss eight weeks into her first pregnancy. We have been supporting our community, friends and family through abortion and pregnancy loss for over a decade.
To support those moving through this we are giving our original Miscarriage & Early Loss course for free for the month (value of $28USD) for the entire month of October – use BROODLUVSU. This course includes videos, workbooks and toolkits for anyone experiencing loss, or supporting someone impacted by it. We put together a special playlist for this month, with a focus on reflection, healing and rest.
As a part of a very special event series — Circle of Care, we are co-hosting an event designed especially for those impacted and/or moving through loss. If you’re in Vancouver, please join us October 20 at 7pm. Information and tickets here.
If you or someone you know needs loss care, contact Emma here.
A collection of resources for those moving through loss, community and care workers who support them.
Books
- Stillbirth and Miscarriage, a Life-changing Loss `Say my baby’s name’ by Anne Tracey
- The Worst Girl Gang Ever – A Survival Guide for Navigating Miscarriage and Pregnancy Loss by Bex Gunn and Laura Buckingham
- I Had a Miscarriage by Jessica Zucker
- Hope Beyond an Empty Cradle by Hallie Scott
- A Womb in the Shape of a Heart by Joanne Gallant
- Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong
- Bearing the Unbearable by Joanne Cacciatore
- Beyond Grief: Navigating the Journey of Pregnancy and Baby Loss by Pippa Vosper
Podcasts
- Intersectional Fertility Podcast Episode 10 with Sara Ceiba Flores: Queerception
- Life After Miscarriage Podcast Story sharing format
- If These Ovaries Could Talk Podcast
Support groups & helpful blog posts
- Mothering Your Heart – Online support.
- Living Through Loss Counselling – Loss focused grief counselling
- In Our Hearts – Facebook Group
- Lactation after Loss – Resource
- Wishing Well – Counselling service
- Support group
- Blog post – Ways of needing support after loss
Written By The Brood Team
