Father’s Shocking Response to Daughter’s Heartbreaking Birth Leaves Family Reeling
The support of loved ones at this time is paramount. What is most beneficial is not pressure alongside compassion. A grieving mother doesn’t need to hear that it is time to move on or that she can have another one. She needs to hear that her grief is real, that her baby mattered, and that it is okay that she feels the way she does. She needs permission to mourn out loud, to cry, to talk about her baby, to cling to memories in ways appropriate to her. Grief baffles society, especially when it is an infant, but to deny the loss happened only exacerbates. Tracing the anniversary, speaking of the baby’s name, or even acknowledging the loss can be a comfort and a non-judgmental understanding.
Practical support also becomes more important than most realize. Grief is draining, and life doesn’t stop. Serving meals, helping with household chores, or watching other children in the household may give a mother room to grieve without the added responsibility of daily essentials. Professional support is also necessary. Counseling or grief therapy provides a safe space to work through feelings of guilt, trauma, or depression. Parent support groups for individuals who have suffered a stillbirth can help limit the overwhelming sense of isolation by offering a sense of contact with people who truly understand.
But most specialists agree that a grieving person needs support
Image credits: Getty Images / freepik (not the actual photo)
People around her must also be understanding of the routine. There is no time limit to grieve, and reminders about the loss will bring sorrow months or years down the line. A good support system doesn’t measure how long someone has grieved but stands with them as long as they need. Partners and immediate family members are grieving as well, albeit differently. Mutual exposure and honest communication work, but the important thing to realize is the mother’s grief can feel so much more suffocating because her body contained the baby. Her loss is emotional and physical as well, and she may have to get through it on her own time.
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