Together we can change their story
YOU Play a Critical Role
When you have no choice but to deliver the life changing, devastating news to an excited mother, that her baby has a terminal or life-limiting diagnosis or that there is no heartbeat, you are left with the difficult responsibility guiding this heartbroken mother through her choices.
It is natural in this type of situation to want to shield the mother by offering options that you believe will shorten or lessen the pain she is feeling. However, the mother will have pain and suffering long after she leaves the office, regardless of the chosen delivery method, and she deserves to understand all of the options the best she can. After explaining the options to the mother, it is imperative to listen to her thoughts and desires, and then gently guide her to the option that fits her the best.
As a caregiver, you have the power to help mothers eliminate regrets by presenting the safe options available for each personal situation, and allowing HER to choose.
Support YOU Can Offer
Sufficient Grace Ministries is a community based, non-profit, non-denominational organization, providing global support and resources for over 1000 families enduring pregnancy and infant loss, each year. This includes those who have received a life-limiting diagnosis in pregnancy and those facing an unexpected loss through miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant/toddler death. SGM was established in 2004, and began providing in-person support in 2013. Our role is to walk along side doctors, nurses, and other specialties to offer a non-medical layer of parent and family-centered support. Please note, resources and services are always given free of charge to bereaved families.
In-Hospital Support
If a mother experiencing a first or second trimester loss expresses any interest in meeting her baby, participating in memory-making, or would like pictures of their time together, PLEASE recommend an option that will allow her to do that.
Sufficient Grace Ministries is honored to come alongside grieving mothers and families to offer support before, during, and after delivery. In-hospital support can be given to families when giving birth virginally or by C-section. In these situations the families will receive support from our Comfort Team, SGM resources, a Comfort Bear, will participate in memory making activities, and receive remembrance photographs of their time with their baby. As Kelly Gerken says, “no one is more equipped to parent a baby, whether alive or not, than his or her parents.” This option gives them the ability, during this brief time, to parent their baby.
Although a D&C/D&E might be the right or only fit for some, often mothers do not understand what the end condition of their baby will be, and that they will not be able to receive the closure activities available with other delivery options. SGM offers brochures to help mothers understand their options, so that they can make educated decisions about the time they have with their baby.
Click here for additional information on 1st and 2nd trimester loss. Click here for additional information on stillbirth and neonatal loss. Click here to order A Gentle Goodbye brochure and other resources to share with your patients.
Perinatal Hospice Services
SGM recommends using the Embracing the Gift of Time Brochure as a resource for families who receive a life-limiting prenatal diagnosis. Please offer our community-based perinatal hospice support services for any family who may benefit from this resource.
Families faced with a life-limiting diagnosis during pregnancy have so many questions and difficult decisions to make. Examples include… How will I continue my pregnancy knowing my babies life will be brief? What type of medical intervention will be available? Will I get to spend time with my baby if I choose labor and delivery? How do I navigate all of the meetings with the specialist and hospital staff?
Once connected with SGM, the family will have a private meeting with a Comfort Doula to discuss the questions the mother has and to be a sounding board for her desires. The support will continue through palliative care meetings, custom-made memory-making items, and finalizing a birth plan. SGM’s role is to walk along side doctors, nurses, and other specialties to offer a non-medical layer of parent and family-centered support.
Click here for additional information on our website. Click here to order A Gentle Goodbye brochure and other resources to share with your patients.
Follow-up Support
The Walking With You division of SGM offers multiple private online support groups and an in-person/virtual monthly support group, where dialogue is shared in a safe location. Peer support is offered from comfort doulas and other parents who are walking through this difficult journey. These services can be offered to all grieving families. Click here for additional information on SGM offered follow-up support.
SGM Can Support You
Staff Training
Sufficient Grace Ministries offers CEU-approved training to medical professionals. Training for your office can include the impact of SGM’s parent-centered approach, how to offer support in these difficult situations, and a greater understanding of resources for patients. Please complete a Consultation Training Form here to discuss specifics for your office.