The Need for Perinatal Bereavement Education
- Three Little Birds
- Aug 31, 2021
- 3 min read
This September, we focus on perinatal bereavement education and supporting the medical professionals who walk the journey with families facing pregnancy and infant loss.
While Three Little Birds, first and foremost, supports families immediately and long term as they walk the uncertain journey of loss and infertility in their family building journeys, we are equally as dedicated in supporting the medical community that supports families bedside.
As bereavement doulas and photographers (and loss parents), we are called bedside, often times by nurses who tell us with shaky voices about the unspeakable tragedy that they are caring for and how overwhelmed they are. What nurses tell us is that...even through their extensive education, are not trained, prepared or equipped to support a family through the loss of a much wanted baby.
Regardless of their training or prior experience we know, there is no concrete set of rules in dealing with these situations. But what we do know is that medical professionals, wholeheartedly, want to give the families what they need during the most difficult of times.
But, what do they need?
The families themselves, cannot tell you. They are in a fog of grief so thick, they cannot even process simple conversation. No one ever imagined this happening so they cannot even fathom what they are going through.
The medical community has told us first hand, there is no training, they feel helpless and hopeless as to what to do/say/offer and they need help.
Three Little Birds will be launching our comprehensive training workshop to train medical professionals (nurses, ultrasound technicians, etc) and other advocates to walk the journey with others. This includes extensive topics such as cultural, religious and personal diversity, understanding birth at all trimesters, the unique grief of these losses, physical and emotional triggers, the impacts on decision making, hands on photography training and more. The goal of this training is to EMPOWER medical professionals and advocates in knowing how to effectively communicate resources, empower their decision making and bonding with their baby when possible.
The benefit of this training is two-fold: First, you will be able to not only effectively support the families you serve, but join a larger nest of advocates that will support you, provide and share resources as well as give you special benefits from our local community sponsors. Secondly, you will be supporting yourself with a nest of support of others who walk the journey that can share their experience and suggestions on best care practices!
More details on official registration will come in 2022. If you would like to pre-register for our workshop, please complete this form. If you have already registered, we will be in contact with you soon.
Additional ways we support the medical community -
We are launching the first part of our training program, specifically for ultrasound technicians in collaboration with our Community Sponsor, Wondertime, LLC this September. Our class is full, but we will be announcing future classes in the new year!
We are developing our Preferred Providers List of compassionate medical professionals that our families have shared made a tremendous positive impact on their experience. While these situations are tragic, there are so many glimmers of hope provided in our darkest moments by compassionate care providers and Three Little Birds is dedicated to supporting and promoting them to our families!
Join us this Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Day on October 15, sponsored by Jefferson University Healthcare, for more information on our organization, how to get involved and to support and validate the one in four families who will lose a pregnancy or baby.
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