The grief journey has no timeline and so, for bereaved parents, the first year can be especially tough, because it's full of missed milestones: first tooth, first steps, first birthday. In this episode, we chat with Emma Hansen about how she coped after her son, Reid, was stillborn. She reflects on how she managed the first year missing Reid, and how she and her family found meaningful ways to honour him. We discuss why it’s important to let yourself ‘sit in the shit of it’ and why even when you are grieving, you are still living.
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Notes:
Blog: Born Still but Still Born by Emma Hansen
Still: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Motherhood by Emma Hansen
Second Firsts by Christina Rasmussen
On Death and Dying (1969) by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross; includes her framework of 5 stages of grief which include anger, denial, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
The 5 stages of grief and other lies that don’t help anyone by Megan Devine
Reid’s Reads by Emma Hansen, family and friends
Donating milk after stillbirth
(http://www.bcwomens.ca/our-services/labour-birth-post-birth-care/milk-bank/donating-milk)
Grief is love with no place to go, quote by Jamie Anderson
On Being with Krista Tippett: Guest Rachel Naomi Remen “How we live with loss”. Original aired August 11th, 2005
Stillbirth Happens – let’s talk
(http://www.bcwomens.ca/health-info/pregnancy-parenting/stillbirth-newborn-loss)
(http://www.cw.bc.ca/library/pdf/pamphlets/BCW1465_LactationAfterLoss.pdf)
Glossary:
Cervidil® (dinoprostone) – a medication delivered through a vaginal insert that assists with labour by softening the cervix and preparing it for birth.