Education and Awareness Services

When a child dies in-utero or shortly after birth, it is emotionally devastating for the parents and their care givers. During the rush and drama of the delivery, the shock and numbness that follows, and all the things that must be done in the course of a hospital stay, there are moments when doctors and nurses say and do just the right thing, and times when things might have been best handled differently.

The doctors and nurses, midwives, and other caregivers are faced with a difficult situation when a pregnancy and the birth of a baby becomes miscarriage, stillbirth, or neonatal death. These amazing people are tasked with so much, especially in these emotionally complicated situations.
After the hospital stay, parents go home to a shattered life. Frequently, they struggle to fill the empty place in their hearts and find the support necessary to navigate the difficult days, months, and years following the death of their child. Rarely do they find their way back to the hospital to discuss their experience with their doctors and nurses. Once they connect with other bereaved parents, they begin to share their stories and the opportunity arises to talk about their care. We hear these stories and we have noticed common threads that connect them.

Walk to Remember’s Education and Awareness program is designed to bring that feedback to the hospital staff. During our Lunch and Learn presentations, we share the things that we have heard from the loss community about what has been especially helpful and what has left the parents wanting.
There is an opportunity to develop a dialogue with these medical staff; to share the wonderful things that help and to explore ways to bring about change where it is needed.