Webinar: Supporting Parents Through Perinatal Loss and Pregnancy After Loss

[Update: Additional resources were added to the resource section below on October 22, 2021.]
[Update: LABBN hosted another webinar on this topic on August 24, 2022. The webinar recording was embedded here. Additional resources shared during this webinar were also added to the resource section below.]

When things don’t go as planned during pregnancy or childbirth, it can be a very scary and traumatic experience. Each year in the United States, about one in four women have a miscarriage, 24,000 babies are stillborn, and 23,000 die within their first month of life. Navigating through this loss can be very difficult for families, but the right support can make a big difference.

In the webinars below, Return to Zero: HOPE‘s Dr. Kiley Krekorian Hanish shares information, tips, and resources to help empower and prepare home visitors to support families who are grieving the loss of a baby. She also discusses how to support families who are expecting again after a previous pregnancy ended in loss. (Scroll down for links to additional resources.)

Related: See the webinar we hosted in February 2018 with Dr. Hanish on Supporting Parents After Perinatal Loss.

About the presenter:

Dr. Kiley Hanish is a speaker, non-profit founder, entrepreneur, and coach dedicated to helping people through transformational growth and healing after loss. After suffering the stillbirth and loss of her first child Norbert, Kiley co-created the Emmy-nominated film Return to Zero to break the silence and stigma around pregnancy and infant loss for parents around the world. The film’s success and critical acclaim led to her non-profit organization Return to Zero: HOPE, where she advocates for and guides bereaved families in reclaiming their purpose, meaning, and healing after their tragic loss. As an occupational therapist and speaker, she is widely recognized as a thought leader at the intersection of mental health and the perinatal period.

Related Resources

• PowerPoints:
  • October 2020 webinar: Supporting Parents Through Perinatal Loss and Pregnancy After Loss
  • August 2022 webinar: Supporting Families After a Loss
• Return to Zero: HOPE:
  • Pregnancy and Infant Loss Directory
  • HOPE Pregnancy After Loss
  • Pregnancy After Loss Support
  • Providers page (RTZ HOPE)
    Learn about the two monthly consult groups hosted for providers.
• Grief Support Resources for Parents and Families with Infant and Fetal Loss – Los Angeles County (LA County Public Health Dept.)
• March of Dimes:
  • Dealing with grief after the death of your baby
  • From Hurt to Healing, a booklet for grieving parents
  • Share Your Story, an online community for families to share experiences with prematurity, birth defects, or loss
  • From the March of Dimes “News Moms Need” blog: 
    • How to support grieving parents
    • Pregnancy loss: will it happen again?
    • Living with loss
    • Infant loss affects the tiniest family members
    • Infant mortality. These two words should never go together.
    • Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day
• Pregnancy After Loss Support 
  • Pregnancy After Loss App
• Washington Post: When we lost our baby at 23 weeks, I didn’t realize how important a virtual network would be
• ProPublica: COVID-Related Stillbirths Didn’t Have to Happen
• Partnership for Maternal & Child Health of Northern New Jersey:
  • Webinar: Supporting Parents During a Pregnancy that Follows a Loss
  • Webinar: Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness – Reflections of Grief: Parents Perspective after Perinatal Loss
  • Pregnancy After Loss (PAL) Survey (administered in 2019 by Partnership for Maternal & Child Health of Northern New Jersey)
    344 people who became pregnant after loss (PAL) were surveyed and asked how they want their provider to respond. Their preferences are listed from most common/most important to least common/least important.
• Grief and Loss Support Groups for Families
  A list compiled by LA Best Babies Network.
• Other organizations that support grieving parents:
  • Centering Corporation
  • Center for Loss in Multiple Birth, Inc.
  • Compassionate Friends
  • First Candle
  • International Stillbirth Alliance
  • Journey Program of Seattle Children’s Hospital
  • Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep
  • Perinatal Hospice & Palliative Care (for parents who find out during pregnancy that their baby has a life-limiting condition)
  • Share Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support
  • Star Legacy Foundation
  • Twinless Twins Support Group International
  • Postpartum Support International
  • Sisters in Loss
  • Pregnancy After Loss Support
  • 2020 Mom