Weekend Wisdom: Coping with Stillbirth After Adoption Match
Question: I’ve been an adoption social worker for almost seven years and just experienced my second situation where the birth mother in a match had a stillbirth after selecting a family through our agency. Both situations were such a difficult loss for both parties. I’m curious if you’ve heard of others who experienced this unusually tragic type of loss during adoption. I’m not sure how common it is, especially given the rate of stillbirths is 1 in 175 births in the U.S. How can adoption professionals (on the adoptive parent AND birth parent side) best walk through such a situation with their clients?
Resources:
- Creating a Family Online Support Group
- How can you deal with your feelings of grief after a stillbirth? (March of Dimes)
- Stillbirth: Surviving Emotionally (American Pregnancy Association)
- Find a Local Chapter – The Compassionate Friends
Music Credit: Michael Ashworth
Podcast Producer: Megown SoundWorks
Image Credit: Christina & Peter