Holding Space for Pregnancy Loss—Webinar Recording

July 22, 2021|Patty Brennan|Birth & Postpartum Topics, End-of-Life, Webinars

With Author Amy Wright Glenn

Pregnancy loss is a special kind of loss. Doulas of all specialties will inevitably encounter it and will, no doubt, benefit from Amy’s wisdom and graceful modeling of how to “hold space.” Join Amy as she explores: What does it mean to hold space? What does it mean to companion the bereaved? How can doulas feel both confident and compassionate in the event of a planned fetal demise or an unexpected and heartbreaking outcome?

Amy Wright Glenn is the owner of the Institute for the Study of Birth, Breath and Death, and author of a book by the same title. You may be interested in reading Amy’s book, Holding Space ~ On Loving, Dying, and Letting Go, as an accompaniment to the webinar.

Amy extends a warm welcome to all to join the Institute as lifelong members at the scholarship rate.

Highlights

6:27 – Holding space
10:27 – What does it mean to hold space? (sharing and discussion)
14:56 – The Three Interlocking Circles of Study
16:10 – The Companioning Philosophy
30:38 – What should I say?
32:20 – What should I avoid saying?
37:02 – Kristin Swanson’s Theory of Caring
40:28 – What about you, the caregiver?
49:04 – Q&A

“Women were made for birth and life and death. In the moment of miscarriage, birth and life and death come through us.”
~Kristin Swansen, RN, PhD

“Emotions like grief, fear and despair are as much a part of the human condition as love, awe and joy. They are our natural and inevitable responses to existence, so long as loss, vulnerability and violence come with the territory of being human. These are the dark emotions, but by dark, I don’t mean that they are bad, unwholesome or pathological. I mean that as a culture we have kept these emotions in the dark—shameful, secret and unseen.”
~Miriam Greenspan, PhD

“We cannot step inside their shoes and feel what they are feeling, but we can become curious, enter into their story and honor their need to grieve as they choose.”
~Jane Heustis RN and Marcia Jenkins, RN

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Patty Brennan

Patty is the owner and visionary force behind Lifespan Doulas. For 40+ years, she has been a doula, midwife, educator, author, nonprofit executive, and entrepreneur. Patty has personally trained over 3,000 people to become doulas. She is the author of The Doula Business Guide: How to Succeed as a Birth, Postpartum or End-of-Life Doula, 4th Edition, and accompanying Workbook.