Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support

Bereaved Parents: Local Support When You Need It Most

At Guelph Women’s Health Associates, our goal is to support families in ways that help them thrive. Our vision is that this support extends to as many families as possible, who are dealing with all kinds of struggles.

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness month, and this led to a discussion amongst our practitioners about how we can better support families who have gone through the heartbreaking experience of losing a baby or infant. This includes miscarriage in any trimester, stillbirth, termination for medical reasons, and neonatal loss. Some of our practitioners have experienced this type of loss directly, others have family and friends who have lost little ones, and many are specially trained in the unique factors that accompany pregnancy and infant loss.

However, it seems to us that Guelph is lacking in specific services for families who have experienced pregnancy or infant loss, and we are hoping to start to slowly fill these gaps. Currently, we have a small but unique group of services that can help women and their families start to heal.

PHYSIOTHERAPY

Guelph Women’s Health Associates is one of the few places that offer pelvic floor physiotherapy by a practitioner who understands pregnancy and infant loss. What makes this different from other types of physiotherapy care? Our physiotherapy team provides trauma-informed physiotherapy assessment and treatment for all post-partum mothers that may or may not include a pelvic assessment if indicated and desired by the patient. They can address return to activity or sport guidance when minimal information is available especially for first and second-trimester loss as well as treatment of concurrent musculoskeletal complaints that can occur while grieving such as neck, jaw, or low back pain.

EMBODIED AWARENESS, MOVEMENT & NERVOUS SYSTEM REGULATION  

As a longtime Yoga, movement, and embodied mindfulness teacher, Kristin Honey provides a safe, compassionate environment for women and families experiencing grief and loss to explore the ways we hold our grief and emotion in our bodies. As a trauma-informed practitioner with a background in Yoga, restorative and somatic exercise, End-of-Life-Care and pelvic health, she offers a wide variety of tools, strategies, and methods to help explore the ways stress, overwhelm, grief, and trauma are held in our nervous system and body. Kristin encourages every client to collaboratively explore awareness-based self-regulation techniques to gain understanding, build capacity, strength, and resilience to feel more resourceful and resilient in daily life. Email Kristin directly at info@kristinhoneyyoga.com

HOW CAN WE HELP?

How else can we better support families who are grieving the loss of little ones, no matter how old? What have you tried and found to be helpful for you and your family? What would have been beneficial for you and your families during your darkest times? Let us know how we can better be a part of your healing village.

Infant and Pregnancy Loss can be devastating and life-shattering, yet we have found that there are not many resources in our community for those in need. This is based not only on our own experiences but also on researching the community. Our goal is to be able to provide support to those who are going through this type of loss.

We are working to remedy this lack of support and compile a list of resources for those in need.

Please feel free to contact us if you have information or would like to be involved.