Counselling & Support for Pregnancy Loss
Our team of counsellors supports clients going through many types of pregnancy loss such as a chemical pregnancy, blighted ovum, molar pregnancy, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, vanishing twin, termination for medical reasons, and stillbirth. Pregnancy loss has significant impacts on a person’s life. Together with your therapist, you can learn how to navigate your grief and integrate it into your life.
Sound familiar?
“My body has failed me”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“Am I able to carry a baby?”
“When will I stop feeling so sad and empty?”
“I feel so alone in this”
“I can’t bear to see other pregnant women”
Despite the way your pregnancy prematurely ended, the results are always the same – enduring grief that can be painful and isolating. Pregnancy loss is a unique type of loss where only the mother, and perhaps the partner, had a relationship with this pregnancy. Women can feel like they have trouble fitting in where pregnant women and young families are everywhere they go. There is an intense grieving period in which women retreat from the world and then come back into it a changed person. There are layers of loss, the physical loss of the baby and all the hopes and dreams for the future. This type of loss is by no means an insignificant one.
How Can Therapy Help?
Acknowledge and process your grief.
With pregnancy loss, there are many layers of grief – such as the actual loss itself, the future you started envisioning with that baby, and the milestones you hit like a due date or the day of the loss. This can often leave women especially feeling quite lonely, since few people – even their partner sometimes – understand the depth of the sadness. Making space for all of the complex feelings as well as honouring what has been lost is our top priority.
Manage challenging social situations.
The comments, questions, and assumptions from well-meaning people can be hurtful. Trying to conceive is a deeply personal journey, including when and who to share your loss with. Your therapist can help you to navigate challenging social situations like the return to work after your loss, how to talk to your friends/family, what to do about baby showers, and how to respond when a friend shares that they are pregnant.
Navigate trying again and pregnancy after loss.
After a loss, the idea of becoming pregnant again can be quite overwhelming, and understandably, lead to a lot of anxiety. While some women are keen to try to get pregnant again and others quite hesitant, being pregnant after a loss is typically a very different experience. Working with a counsellor, you will have a guide for navigating the triggers and worries that come up with trying to conceive and being pregnant after your loss.
Learn tools for supporting your mental health.
We’ll examine what you’re already doing to support yourself (you may not be aware of it yet, but there’s always something helpful you’re already doing for yourself). We will also explore new tools to add to your “coping toolbox” – these will be customized because it’s not a one-size-fits-all type of deal. Counselling can also help you connect more with self-compassionate and uncover new mindsets to get through this challenging time.
Ready to Get Started?
You don’t need to go through this alone. We have a team of counsellors that can help you deal with your pregnancy loss and the grief that goes with it. If you’re not sure what kind of support you need, we’ll be happy to match you with a counsellor that’s the right fit.
Our Pregnancy Loss Counsellors
Alexandra Stewart
Ruth Skutezky
