October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month
Do you know what to do if a friend loses a child?
Loss can take on so many forms!
* Miscarriage
* Still Birth
* Loss of young baby
* Adoption that fell through
* Surrogate loss
* Infertility/inability to obtain or sustain a pregnancy
Over the next few days, I would love to offer a series that sheds some light on supporting those who walk this journey of loss! Over this week, I am going to offer four helpful tips that will guide you as you interact with your family and friends who may be hurting.
If you know someone who has recently experienced a loss, stay tuned.
If you don't know anyone who has experienced loss, save this post - it's likely you will encounter one.
If you are a friend of a friend suffering loss, share this post series with them!
Loss affects at leas 1:4 women in the world (and likely more than that as miscarriages are underreported, and failed adoptions and infertility don't typically get counted in this number).
This content is compiled from my own personal experience with loss (we lost our first baby - Sam Azrial - to Miscarriage in 2008), from my interactions with those who have lost children (miscarriages, failed adoptions, infertility journeys, stillbirths, and young infant losses), and from my education in mental health, grief and loss.
Here's what we are going to address:
1. Your own emotional state and feelings about the loss and how your emotional state can significantly affect your ability to be present with your friend.
2. How honesty is best (even if it feels clunky and awkward).
3. What compassion can look like and how compassionate presence can start a healing process.
4. Mistakes to avoid when interacting with your friend who has suffered loss.
If these posts bring up deep feelings of your own losses or unhealed wounds, feel free to reach out. I'd love to be able to connect you with resources local to you in order to help you find the support and healing you need. And if nothing else, I'm always happy to be a compassionate listening ear.
Comentários