Losing a child at any time is one of the most difficult experiences for a parent. When parents lose a child during the prenatal phase, it can lead to feelings of confusion, guilt, loneliness and depression. While it is normal to pass through the grieving process if you miscarry or lose your baby shortly after birth, it is still important to seek professional help as you cope. Louisiana offers a variety of support groups and counseling options to mothers, parents and other family members who have suffered the pain of prenatal grief.
Miscarriage
A miscarriage is the expulsion of the embryo or fetus from the uterus prior to adequate development. One of the most difficult aspects of dealing with miscarriage is finding support from people who acknowledge your loss and understand your feelings. Women receiving care from hospitals in Louisiana like St. Frances Cabrini and North Shore Regional Medical Center are referred to support groups like Candle Lighters and The Caring and Hoping Group to help them cope. During meetings, participants learn how to respond when they hear phrases like "It was only a miscarriage," or "You can get pregnant again."
Stillbirth
Sometimes a woman does not miscarry, but her baby does not survive the pregnancy. There may be a period of time when she carries the non-living fetus, before doctors are able to carry out procedures to force labor or end the pregnancy in some other way. Women whose children do not survive pregnancy will experience all of the stages of grief, just as they would if their child died later in life. It can be especially challenging if a woman goes through labor, only to be left with her grief. Many of the support groups in Louisiana, such as Compassionate Friends and Healing Hearts, make no distinction for how a baby died, and they offer services and support to women regardless of the situation.
The Importance of Grief Work
If you are experiencing prenatal grief, it is important to seek professional and peer support. Reactions such as long periods of crying, anger, feelings of loneliness, sleep and appetite disturbances, feelings of numbness and a sense of despair are all normal during the time following your loss. To move through the stages of grief and reach an acceptance of your situation takes work. If this work is not done immediately following your loss, you may experience emotional problems later in life, as the need to grieve resurfaces. Groups such as Compassionate Friends, Healing Hearts and individual counseling options in Louisiana help women who experienced prenatal loss in the past. They understand grief has no time table and offer support regardless of when your personal events occurred.
Support Groups
Many of the support groups for prenatal loss in Louisiana are structured similarly. Meetings are attended by women, parents and loved ones who have experienced prenatal loss. They are welcome to sit quietly and listen or share their experience and feelings. The Compassionate Friends group is open to families who have lost children of all ages. The group meets once a month for about 1.5 to 2 hours and may include a speaker or a grief-related activity. There are numerous chapters of Compassionate Friends throughout Louisiana. The Healing Hearts group is attended by parents and others who have been affected by miscarriage, stillbirth or infant death. Meetings are the third Tuesday of each month and the location of the meetings rotate between the Rapides Regional Medical Center, the Huey P. Long Medical Center and Christus St. Frances Cabrini Hospital.
Counseling and Therapy
Many women find in addition to the support of their peers, they need individual counseling to help them deal with their prenatal loss. Individual counseling helps you work through the feelings of depression, guilt and anger associated with the loss. There are a number of counseling options in Louisiana, including Janelle O'Connor, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker located in New Orleans. O'Connor works with patients struggling with grief, loss and bereavement, as well as anxiety, family problems and women's issues. Lynn Scholossberger is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Baton Rouge, but also provides telephone and online counseling to those struggling with grief and bereavement. Schlossberger believes "Depression, relationship stress, anxiety and traumatic experiences can intrude on our life journey, and interfere with our ability to lead the life we hope for. Counseling is a creative process that leads toward freedom from these burdens." Women who have experienced miscarriage may also need help coping with their spouse's reaction, and they may experience postpartum depression and other emotional problems related to pregnancy hormones. Counseling can help with these issues, too.
