Our June Charity: Pregnancy After Loss Support

Even in the best of times, finding out you are pregnant can bring about mixed emotions. There may be joy and excitement, but it’s also natural to feel some anxiety and fear. After all, carrying and raising a baby is no small feat, and worrying about your little one is inevitable throughout every stage of your parenthood journey. But, if you’ve ever experienced the loss of a child, feelings about being pregnant again can be even more complicated. Grief, anxiety, numbness, and fear of the worst can cloud hope and happiness, leading to more complex feelings of guilt. With so many polarizing emotions and the higher risk of depression, anxiety, and PTSD that comes with child loss, navigating a new pregnancy under these circumstances can be an extremely isolating experience for women. 

Pregnancy After Loss Support (PALS) is a non-profit organization that wants you to know that you are not alone. Founded by psychotherapist, author, and speaker Lindsey Henke after the stillbirth of her oldest daughter, Nora, PALS has become a lifeline for every family going through the grief and joy that come with a pregnancy after loss. The organization’s mission is to ensure that these families are able to find support and connection among both peers and healthcare professionals who understand and validate the complexities of their experience and that they are also able to choose hope over fear while nurturing their grief. In the United States, 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage and 1 in 160 pregnancies end in stillbirth. While a subsequent pregnancy is common in these women, the experience is psychologically complex, and PALS offers much-needed community support and resources to help them work through it. 

The four cornerstones of PALS are awareness, advocacy, connection, and education. First, the organization seeks to improve awareness and spread recognition that pregnancy after loss is a unique experience with many intertwining emotions like hope and fear, as well as joy and grief. Second, it advocates for the mom’s health and the health of her baby by empowering her to trust her instincts and advocate for herself. Third, PALS connects moms to providers and peers for the added support that is necessary during a pregnancy after loss. Lastly, the organization educates both moms and healthcare providers about the difference between perinatal mood and anxiety disorders versus the anxiety of a normal pregnancy after loss, so that they know when additional support is needed.

PALS moderates 14 online support groups on Facebook, with a specific group for those who are pregnant after the loss of a multiple, those who are newly bereaved, those who are pregnant after a third-trimester loss, those who are trying to conceive after loss, those who are pregnant after terminating for medical reasons, and more. These groups encourage peer-to-peer support during all stages of pregnancy after loss and connect people with a community of those who understand each other because of a shared experience.

Now, parents who are expecting a new baby after experiencing a loss can receive personalized support right from their phone with the Pregnancy After Loss app. The app gives updates about your pregnancy process in a way that is tailored to the unique emotional experience of feeling joy from expecting while still coping with grief from a loss. The app also offers meditations, affirmations, and other coping skills to prepare for and persevere through hard moments, and allows parents to connect with the PALS community around prenatal topics that pertain to those who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant death.