New local pregnancy and infant loss support group available

A new local support group has been created to help people to navigate the loss of a pregnancy or infant and demonstrate they are not alone in their grief.

Algoma Family Services began looking for gaps in local mental health services as a result of the shortage of primary obstetrics care providers and the challenges and barriers that creates.

One gap in service that was identified in Sault Ste. Marie and Algoma was for mental health supports for people experiencing loss of a pregnancy or infant.

One in four women will experience a pregnancy that ends in loss, said Abbi Veira, a registered social worker for Algoma Family Services.

“Often what happens, because it’s medicalized, is the care just stops. So you no longer have an [obstetrician] and you tend to be cut off from that support,” said Veira. “In our community we are very short with O.B.s and gynaecology right now, so that doesn’t help.”

Veira said the loss of a pregnancy or infant can create depression, anxiety and trauma.

“In this type of loss there often is nothing to bury. You may not even know what you lost — a boy or a girl — so sometimes that healing piece is not there,” said Veira. “You are just left on your own to go through that process and sometimes the physical act of losing can have complications which can be very traumatic and quite painful.”

The IRIS Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support Group was created as a result of the need for mental health supports for people who have experienced the loss of an infant or pregnancy (first trimester/early pregnancy loss, stillbirth, neonatal death, infant death).

Individuals who voluntarily terminated a pregnancy are not included in the eligibility for this group, but can seek support through the Algoma Pregnancy Centre.

The group meets during the last Wednesday of each month and on-site child minding is available. The first meeting was held recently at Algoma Family Services office at 205 McNabb St.

“I think it was a success,” said Veira of the first meeting.

The loss of a pregnancy or infant is a personal experience, said Veira, and everyone’s experience is going to be different, but the group helps people to understand they are not alone.

“I think what everyone is lacking is just that acknowledgement that what they had was real and what they felt was real. It’s one of those things in life if you have gone through you’re going to get,” said Veira. “To be around people who have gone through it — even without speaking — they will know. You will know you’re around people who understand you.”

People often build up an idea of what their pregnancy is going to be and imagine their life with a new baby, ideas that can come crashing down with an unexpected loss.

“People often say you can always try again, but it’s not just that — it’s this whole loss of an identity that can have an effect of mental health,” said Veira. “In any subsequent pregnancy you will never be able to feel that excitement, there will be a lot of anxiety again, and isolation, and not being understood — which is what we are trying to help with this group, people coming together to have that space to feel validated and acknowledged.”

Even if you feel like you are coping with a loss, said Veira, that can change in a moment.

“Sometimes you might not feel a need for it right away and it might not be until the due date comes up or a special occasion — grief can pop up whenever. It doesn’t matter how long it’s been,” she said.

The program was created with the assistance of 12 community partners, among them Algoma Public Health, THRIVE Child Development Centre, Sault Area Hospital, Nogdawindamin Family & Community Services, the Sault Ste Marie Indigenous Friendship Centre, as well as the Algoma Pregnancy Centre.

People seeking more information or to register for the group can call Kelly at 705-945-5058 ext 2414.