[fennelseed]

hi there,

a friend who is pregnant just lost a close relative. she has been very sad about it. i'm wondering if anyone out there has any suggestions as to how to comfort her. are there any books about mourning while pregnant? how to best show support in this situation? thanks.

 

[lisamarie]

Such a sweet friend you are! I'm not aware of any books that address the grieving pregnant woman. But alot of books do talk about stress on the pregnant mom and grieving can be very stressful. I think you want to stress to her about taking extra care with herself right now. Making sure to increase fluids (especially if she has been crying alot) so that she doesn't get dehydrated. Also, bodywork can be very helpful too. MDC also has a grief and loss board and you could suggest having her come and talk about her feelings, if she feels comfortable to. I hope this is helpful.

Best of Luck~

Lisa:bf

 

[Quirky]

I don't know of any books, but I do think it's important that she grieve as she needs to without worrying that she's harming her baby. I lost my dog during the last weeks of my pregnancy, and on top of everything else I was worried that all my crying and grieving would affect ds. My midwife was very supportive and told me that I needed to grieve on my own schedule, and that waiting until the baby got here to grieve wasn't going to do him or me any favors. She also reassured me that ds would be fine.

She just needs to feel free to feel her emotions and not try to suppress them for the baby's sake...which doesn't work anyway and just adds guilty feelings to the grief.

 

[marymom]

I totally agree
support her to nurture herself while she feels her feelings,