Why a Baby Loss Advisor or Loss Doula is needed?

We are excited to invite you to learn more about Baby Loss Family Advisors™ and Baby Loss Doulas®.  As the first national certification program, this new paradigm is only a few years old and is already being utilized in a number of communities and is growing. 

We pride ourselves in having the best training program and the highest expectations of our Baby Loss Family Advisors™ and Baby Loss Doulas® because we are committed to the idea that newly bereaved parents deserve only the best care by the most prepared people.  Our Independent team of caregivers also share our commitment to help minimize regrets and maximize memories to help parents heal and find hope.


Why are Baby Loss Family Advisors™ and Baby Loss Doulas® needed?
---Parents deserve compassionate, comprehensive, well-informed continuity of care from news delivery to hospital, home, and beyond. Clinic and hospital medical staff are important people and yet, are not the only people who can help provide this. When working as a team with parent advisor/navigators acting as companions, the depth of understanding, preparation potential, and increased control (while still in shock) can ease the parents' burden and help them make better choices. This is especially true when parents understand the 'whys' and the 'consequences' of each choice they make, which is  a priority in our certification training. 


---The nurses and social workers, who often do a wonderful job in the clinic, rarely can provide everything like--

• A few hours+ to listen to  mom, dad, and family members
• Act as a liaison, navigator, or advocate for the parents (even if the parents need something that s not typical hospital policy)
• Help making a flexible birth plan prior to hospital admittance
• Take the grandparents and other family to the cafeteria or a private room to have a long chat about what they are going through 
• Help interpret and offer consequences of decisions presented by the hospital staff
• Assist at a Bereavement Discharge Meeting
• Help with the transition to home and work
• The best materials to assist families in early decision-making
• Provide the most updated resources including local, national, and social media sites

---Parents tell us how important it is to have someone who has been there before and who truly knows what they are going through.  They learn the hard way what care was missing.  And those who have had the additional support from their own Baby Loss Family Advisors™ or Baby Loss Doulas® report what a positive difference it made during their time of preparing, birth, meeting, eventually saying goodbye, and going home and/or back to work.


I am proud to be a founding member of this program (with Pat Flynn, PhD, who has recently retired).  We are committed to keeping our standards high and continually working to improve our program.  Suggestions are welcome and conversations about how to involve such caregivers in your local community, at the clinic, hospital, funeral home, places of worship and more. 


If you are an Independent Loss Advisor or Loss Doula certified through our program, we invite you to share your experiences and stories (no names, please) along with any advice or guidance for those working in this field.
Parents, you are also welcome to write a blog about the care you wish you had or that you did receive.  
Write to: sherokeeilse@yahoo.com