How Finding Community Helped Me Heal In My Grief: Advice From A Mother Of Stillbirth

Still A Part of Us: A podcast about pregnancy loss, stillbirth, and infant loss

Trigger Warning: This episode discusses infant loss, including miscarriage and stillbirth. Please listen with care.

Seeking out community support and recognizing that grief is a normal, ongoing process are key steps in healing.

In this episode, Ari opens up to Winter about the loss of her sweet baby boy, Kai, who was stillborn at 30 weeks. They discuss the importance of finding community and seeking professional help when needed. Ari looks back on the support she received from family and friends who all played a crucial role in her healing journey.

Some highlights from our conversation with Ari include:

• Attending support groups and therapy for emotional healing

• Remembering to take breaks from sadness and rediscovering yourself outside of parenthood

• The experience of pregnancy and anxiety after the loss of a child

• Sharing memories of her son Kai with loved ones

• Finding comfort in acknowledging her grief

We hope this episode brings comfort and serves as a reminder that seeking joy and taking time for yourself are crucial steps in the healing process.

Quotes:

“And so being pregnant after losing Kai was hard, I lost a lot of that kind of joy. Because I knew very well, like, the statistics of baby loss and had experienced it myself. So at every turn I was just constantly worried and had come prepared for every like appointment with lots of questions.’” – Ari (13:51)

“It's really, really heavy in the beginning––it's incredibly heavy, and it will continue to be on certain days. But I think over time, generally speaking, like, although the grief stays with me, you just kind of wear it differently. It's a little bit lighter, it's a little bit easier to carry. And, yeah, you're not alone, so seek out community.” – Ari (26:09)

Other Episodes You Might Appreciate:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/he-was-born-in-the-golden-hour-a-mothers-stillbirth-story/id1473594556?i=1000658305902

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Links:

Grief Support Groups: https://nationalshare.org/

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