Pregnancy Loss

The loss of a baby can be a devastating experience for you and your partner. It is an emotionally charged time that can make a couple feel isolated. Couples who experience pregnancy loss may feel as if they straddle two worlds adding confusion to an already difficult time. Are you part of the fertile world because you conceived? Or are you part of the infertile world because there was no live birth?

Pregnancy loss (miscarriage, stillbirth) is far more common than people realize. In fact, one in five pregnancies ends in a miscarriage and two babies are stillborn for every 100 live births.

Mourning the loss of a baby can be hard work that takes a lot of time and energy. First, to facilitate the healing process it is important to acknowledge the death of the baby as a significant and real loss. Second, couples need to talk about their experience immediately following the loss and for as many months afterward as they need. Sufficient time should elapse for complete physical and emotional healing before trying to conceive again. Lastly, remember that you and your partner may have different reactions to this experience and may cope with the feelings of loss differently as well.