Global Pregnancy & Infant Loss Comfort Coalition Conference

Click Here to Register

Full training schedule COMING SOON!

Sessions will last from 9am-5pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Topics include:

Keynote: Comfort Companioning:  Changing the Story With Parent-Family Centered Care 

Breakout Sessions

• Emergent Support in Each Trimester: ER, OR, OB
• Beyond the Birth: return to work issues, couple communication, sibling issues, bills and finances, holidays,
• Building Relationships: Developing and Maintaining a Successful Support Group and Community Connection
• Key Components of a Comprehensive Parent-Family-Centered Perinatal Hospice Program
• Importance of Remembrance Photography: Why Capturing the Moments Matter Creating Beautiful Images in a Hospital Setting    

Keynote: Embrace the Joy:  Five Principles of Perinatal Loss Patient-Centered Care   

Breakout Sessions

• Avoiding Compassion Fatigue for Caregivers: Embracing the Joy of Serving
• Memory-making Ideas and Suggestions
• Introducing Resources and Options to families using Parent-Friendly Language (Interactive Scenarios demonstrating and practicing)
• Neonatal Organ Donation
• Fostering an Environment That Encourages Family-Centered Care: Mothers, Fathers, Grandparents, Siblings, Extended Family
• Testing & Disposition: Options for Baby
• Including Faith & Cultural Traditions in Family’s/Baby’s Story
• COVID-19: The Impact of Bereavement Support in a Global Pandemic

 Keynote: Partnering Hospital and Community-Based Perinatal Loss Support           

Breakout Sessions

• Interactive Scenarios/Simulated Demonstration
• Emergent Loss – Talking Through Plans and Options/Providing Support
• Perinatal Hospice/Life-limiting Condition – How to Offer Options to Parents and Giving Them News About a Life-Limiting Perinatal Diagnosis
• Perinatal Hospice Consultations – Forming a Birth Plan   
• Engaging Hesitant and Non-Communicative Families

 

About the Conference

The Global Pregnancy & Infant Loss Comfort Coalition Conference is for nurses, doulas, providers, midwives, mental health professionals, chaplains, caregivers, funeral directors, parent advocates, birth professionals, non-profit leaders, or anyone who is interested in learning how to provide compassionate, parent-centered care to grieving families who are experiencing a loss in pregnancy, infancy, and early childhood. Learn from leading companioning experts who bring years of experience in the field of perinatal and neonatal bereavement support to the conversation. We will go far beyond a checklist to come alongside bereaved parents, helping to take away some of the fear, so that they can embrace time with their baby. Our 2021 theme for the conference is Embracing Grief and Joy. While we cannot take away the pain of grief, empowering parents to embrace time memory-making and parenting their babies, even in death, helps to weave moments of precious joy into their time together. Evidence-based studies suggest that this time can alleviate regrets and complicated grief for bereaved parents. This conference could change the way that you offer and provide support for families walking through pregnancy and infant loss.

Training is offered virtually!

We know that, as caregivers, in whatever role you serve, you are busy providing excellent care and support to your patients. While in-person conferences have their benefits, the convenience of being able to gain tools that will build confidence and support your work without investing hundreds of dollars and without having to leave your post, brings added value to learning virtually. You can participate from your office or your couch! One thing we do ask, is that you do your best to treat the conference as a live conference, attending sessions live when/if possible. Everything will be recorded and there will be options to view later if you must. But, the conference is designed to be attended “live” online.

CEUs are available for nurses and chaplains!

Participants who choose this option will not only have access to all of the wonderful information shared during the conference weekend, but will also have access to recordings of the material and will receive 16 CEUs upon successfully completing the assessment available at the end of the conference. CEUs are available for nurses and chaplains.
This nursing continuing professional development activity was approved by the Ohio Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation (OBN-001-91) ONA Approval #2020-0000000653

This education activity is approved by the National Catholic Chaplains Association for 2 contact hours.

Featured Speakers

Kelly Gerken is the President and Founder of Sufficient Grace Ministries, serving thousands of grieving families worldwide since 2004. From her own family’s journey of grief and healing, Kelly has created the Dreams of You Memory Book and other beautiful support materials to help families form a precious memory for their babies who leave this earth too soon. She is the mother of five children, three who dance in heaven, and two grown sons who fill her days with joy on earth. She is a featured speaker at hospitals, churches, women’s groups, and a leader of educational seminars for hospital staff and caregivers. Kelly developed the Dreams of You Bereavement products offered by SGM in addition to building a comprehensive perinatal hospice program in Ohio. Kelly leads trainings for birth professionals on compassionate care for bereaved parents at hospitals throughout the country. She is a certified SGM Comfort Doula and an SGM Remembrance Photographer. Her book, Sufficient Grace, (Comfort Publishing) was released November 2014 and re-release under the Sufficient Grace label in 2018.

Sherokee Ilse is an international speaker/trainer, author, and bereaved parent, is the Co-founder/ President of Baby Loss Family Advisors/Loss Doulas and the President of Babies Remembered. She is one of the pioneers who helped raise the level of sensitive care (for families experiencing miscarriage, stillbirth and other early infant losses) following the ‘dark ages’ when babies were whisked away after birth and death. A paradigm shifter and passionate teacher, she now uses her decades of experience to give one-on-one care to families and trains and mentors others who wish to do the same. Ms. Ilse is the author of 18 books and booklets on loss including one of the first ‘self-help’ books for families who hear the news of their loss and need help making intentional decisions to embrace the joy/love and focus on their parenting role with their loved baby who has died.

Stormy Mitchell is the M.E.ND. Greater Houston Chapter Director. She has served in that role since 2013, 2 years after she began attending M.E.N.D. support group meetings following the death of her son, Gideon. Stormy and her husband, Todd, have 3 babies in Heaven: Avery, miscarried in May 2008, Gideon Zeller, stillborn May 17, 2011, and Joy, lost due to vanishing twin syndrome in December 2014. Stormy has a Bachelor’s degree in psychology, and a Master’s degree in theatre. Her education and experience in these fields have equipped her to lead support groups, host remembrance events, and speak to hospitals and funeral homes on how to care for families who lose a baby. After the loss of her son and inspired by the wonderful care she received from her nurses at the hospital, Stormy went back to school to become a Registered Nurse. She is currently a pediatric RN.

Jennie Drude is the mother of three babies in heaven: Dharma Lucille and Stella Darling who both were diagnosed with anencephaly and another daughter, Liza Belle. Jennie is the director of the Bryan/College Station chapter of M.E.N.D since 2009. She continues to use the legacy of her daughter to help others in their own grief. Outside of M.E.N.D., she is also a volunteer bereavement photographer and serves families by providing them with memory making items, resources, and funeral planning help.

Debra Bolton, BSN, RNC-OB/EFM, CPLC, PHN, CLE
Debra has been a labor and delivery nurse for over 25 years.  She attended Biola University where she studied psychology, obtained her AA degree in nursing at Santa Ana College and her BSN from Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California. She is certified in fetal monitoring, inpatient obstetrics and perinatal loss care.  She is a member of AWHONN, PLIDA and Sigma Theta Tau. Debra is a staff nurse at Providence St Joseph Hospital in Orange, California where they deliver more than 450 babies a month.  She is the bereavement coordinator for her labor and delivery unit where she is responsible for meeting with families who are experiencing a pregnancy loss, maintains bereavement supplies and educates all incoming RN’s on how to care for these families.  In addition to her regular duties in L&D she also the nurse navigator for the Providence Perinatal Palliative Care Program, where she is able to support families and educate them as to what to expect when they deliver a baby that is not expected to live very long.  She has a passion for perinatal comfort care and for these special babies and their families. Debra has presented at many local colleges as well as at local and national conferences.  She is excited to be here today to share her expertise with you and to answer any questions that you may have. 

…And MORE Speakers to Come!