Counselling for Pregnancy Loss
Pregnancy loss can include miscarriage, recurrent loss, neonatal loss, stillbirth, late-term/genetics terminations, and abortion. These experiences can bring up a profound sense of loss which can be both physically and emotionally overwhelming and may bring up feelings of sadness, grief anger, anxiety, or depression.
Some common experiences after pregnancy loss include:
grief which may show up as overwhelming sadness or feeling emotionally exhausted
depression which may show up as feeling physically weak or exhausted, numb, heavy, or unmotivated
feeling of anger at yourself, others, or the medical system
anxiety which may show up as bodily tension, irritability, racing thoughts, panic attacks, or insomnia
difficulty relating with others: your partner, friends, family
feelings of envy and resentment towards others
feeling alone and isolated
feeling anxious during pregnancy following loss
Our culture does not have many practices for mourning a pregnancy loss and many women and their partners feel alone with their feelings of grief. One of the challenges aspects of pregnancy loss is that it often unrecognized by other people. In the case of miscarriage, some women may not have shared their pregnancy with others during their first term and thus may be dealing with the pregnancy loss alone or are left in the difficult position of telling others of both the pregnancy and the loss at the same time. Additionally, in our culture, we often don’t have the tools we need to mourn a pregnancy loss because there are no memories to draw upon with your baby and no specific mourning rituals which making coping even more challenging.
My counselling approach for pregnancy loss includes helping you to cope with your feelings of grief, loss, sadness, anger, or envy so that you feel lighter, more present in your life, and more connected with your partner, and able to connect with your pregnancy and birth experiences without fear if you end up getting pregnant following tour loss. Together we will find tools that will help you to make sense of your experience, mourn your loss and move through this difficult time.
As a holistic reproductive practitioner, I can also draw on reiki/ energy healing if this is desired. I can help to clear any energetic blockages, to acknowledge and send off your baby’s spirit, and to explore rituals and spiritual practices for remembering your baby.