A few weeks back, I wrote about stillbirth This week I wanted to delve a little bit deeper into what emotions and coping looks like following this devastating loss.While there is certainly some overlap with the feelings and strategies that I wrote about in my pieces on miscarriage , there are aspects specific to losses that occur later in pregnancy that I wanted to highlight.

The reality is that pregnancy is a time of incredible psychological vulnerability. In fact, the majority of women who experience mental health symptoms postpartum note that their symptoms began during pregnancy, with 14-25% of pregnant women experiencing depression, anxiety, or another perinatal mood or anxiety disorder (PMAD). This is especially true if you have a history of depression, anxiety, or another mental health concern.

This week marks Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week.

I’d like to take another brief break from my series on loss to bring your attention to National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW). 

I’ve spent the last few weeks on the blog focusing on miscarriage. My hope was to shed some light on the statistical and emotional landscape of what is an incredibly painful and yet remarkably common occurrence.

I'd like to take another break this week from my series on loss to feature an important piece by the incredible Lori Mihalich-Levin, founder of Mindful Return. Lori's new and amazing book Back to Work After Baby: How to Plan and Navigate a Mindful Return from Maternity Leave is coming out on April 11th. 

Do you remember that old children’s song- going on a bear hunt? The refrain goes like this: 

“Can’t go over it, can’t go under it, can’t go around it, got to go through it!” 

Now that we’ve discussed some of the facts  about miscarriage and why it occurs, I wanted to devote some time to exploring common emotional reactions to miscarriage. 

I’m taking a brief pause from my series on loss to bring your attention to World Doula Week.

Last week  I made the case for the importance of speaking openly about pregnancy loss. My hope over the next few weeks is to shine a bright light on the many faces and facets of loss. 

I’m starting this week talking about miscarriages. As a refresher, miscarriage refers to pregnancy loss before 20 weeks. An estimated 10-25% of pregnancy’s will end in miscarriage, with most miscarriages occurring before the 13th week of pregnancy. As I noted last...