Pause to Remember: Providers Sharing Loss Stories

Host Amy Pelkey speaks with Mandy Wannarka, LICSW, PMH-C, RYT-200, a therapist specializing in supporting mothers and couples through the difficult journey of pregnancy and infant loss, including making the decision to terminate a pregnancy for medical reasons (TFMR).

Mandy shares insights from her career in social work, focusing on her experience with the perinatal population in hospital settings and now in her outpatien...

Kelly Powers, CRNA and Divorce Coach, offers invaluable insights and guidance for those facing the ...

Reverend Daryl Lavway engages in a meaningful conversation with host Amy Pelkey, CRNA.  Leveraging his extensive ministry experience and role as a chaplain in a Level 1, academic, medical center, Daryl provides profound insights into the intersection of grief and faith.

Five key points discussed include:

1. Unhelpful religious comments like, "It was God's will...

Dr. Errin Weisman is a burnout coach, mentor, speaker, podcaster, and friend.   She shares her experience with burnout that began in medical school and escalated during her residency and early years as an attending physician.  This led to her feeling trapped.

The episode highlights the impact of the pandemic on burnout and the challenge...

Two experiences can co-exist. Create space to tend to your experiences and the feelings that arise along the way while cultivating self-compassion and love.  This meditation is about 5 minutes long.

Pause to Remember Information

Pause to Remember Resources for Healthcare Providers Grieving After Pregnancy and Infant Loss

• Facebook Group
• Virtual Support Group
• Amy's Calendar 

Katie Cooper, MS, CRNA, APRN has a unique perspective on fertility care.  Not only did she donate her eggs to a family in her 20s, she now specializes in fertility anesthesia.

Listen to our conversation as we cover:

• Tips to optimize your health in preparation for infertility treatments
• Suggestions and questions to ask when researching a fertility clinic
• Financial considerations
• Anesthesia for fertility treatments
• Personal exp...

Chelsey Herzig, CRNA works in a critical access hospital in Minnesota.  She talks about her daughter, Brynn, and the impact losing her has made in her life including her career and marriage.

Some of the things discussed include:

• Infertility treatment
• Process of diagnosing Brynn with a life limiting diagnosis (included a fetal MRI)
• Decision to terminate the pregnancy in a larger facility with more resources
• Anticipatory griev...

MNDFL Rx (Mindful Prescription) A 4-week mindfulness based grief course for healthcare providers grieving after pregnancy or infant loss.  Learn more and sign up for group or private options here.

Pause to Remember FREE Resources for Healthcare Providers Grieving After Pregnancy and Infant Loss

• Facebook Group
• Virtual Support Group
• Amy's Calendar to talk 1:1
• eBook - A G...

Bailey Dykema, CRNA works in Minnesota at a critical access hospital.  She has been on a four year infertility journey (IUI and IVF) and experienced a miscarriage in November 2022.

Bailey shares her experiences with:

• PCOS, hypothalamic amenorrhea, and nutritional issues related to overtraining/HIIT workouts
• Stress related to moving, getting married, starting a new job/career, COVID-19, infertility, financial strain of payi...

MNDFL Rx (Mindful Prescription) 

A 4-week mindfulness based grief course for healthcare providers grieving after pregnancy or infant loss.  Learn more and sign up for the March 2023 group or private options here.

Do you have questions?  Talk to Amy here. 

Pause to Remember Free Resources for Healthcare Providers Grieving After Pregnancy and Infant Loss

• Facebook Group
• Virtual Support Group
• eBook - A G...

Sara Asch, from The Center for Grieving Children, in Portland, Maine, works closely with families, volunteers, and the community in the areas of grief and loss, program development, outreach, and training.

Sara offered many suggestions and insights regarding grieving children.  Some include:

• Sitting with difficult news about a life limiting diagnosis or a pregnancy or infant loss before sharing i...

Macy Guisto, DPT talks about chronic pain after pregnancy and infant loss.

In this episode she talks about:

• Risk factors - emotional overload, trauma
• Pain after delivery or c-section
• Identifying contributing factors
  • lack of sleep
  • emotional overload
  • constantly in "fight or flight" mode
  • stressors (like loss)
  • hormones
  • nutrition
• Induced labor, epidurals, and c-sections have been shown to increase the risk of develop...

David Allsop, MS, CFLE, CNP is completing his PhD in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

He is investigating how sexual wellbeing changes after pregnancy loss and hopes to better understand the experiences of the couples in the ALOE study.

ALOE stands for Acknowledging Loss Outcomes and Experiences.  Couples can participate in the ALOE study if they have:

• Have expe...

Resources

• Facebook Group-Grief Support Group for Healthcare Providers 
• after pregnancy and infant loss
• Virtual Support Group for Healthcare Providers after pregnancy and infant loss
• Amy's Calendar to talk 1:1
• eBook - A Guide After Pregnancy & Infant Loss
• Refer a provider (therapist, counselor, psychiatrist, etc)
• Be a guest on the podcast
• Contact Amy
• Yoga with the Pause to Remember ...

Three goals are outlined to create a guide for you.  With these goals, suggestions are made for what you can do or buy to help alleviate feelings of isolation, support day-to-day responsibilities at home, and offer comfort.

This information is written in a blog post found here.

You can also have it emailed along with information from Episode 20 by clicking here.

Resources:

• Free eBook -...

This episode is for all the support people who care about a family member, friend, neighbor, or co-worker who is grieving after a pregnancy or infant loss.

A comprehensive list of what not to say is reviewed with examples.  

Suggestions to start a conversation with a griever and how to create a safe space for them to share is also offered.

This information is written in a blog post found here.

You can also have it emailed to yo...

Mindfulness Practice

Do you ever feel like your mind is scattered or you're distracted by your emotions?

Meditation is one mindfulness practice to help you redirect your awareness to the present moment. 

Here is a meditation for when you feel like your mind or emotions are getting th...

Dr. Tyra Abdalla, DPT specializes in pelvic health.  In detail, Tyra talks about:

• signs and symptoms of pelvic dysfunction
• how to find a pelvic health specialist
• how the pelvis is evaluated
• traumatic birth
• how to obtain the best outcomes with a holistic approach
• pelvic floor issues after c-sections vs vaginal delivers including scar tissue and adhesions
• returning to work
• painful sex

You can find Tyra on Instagram @pittsburg...

Brenda Behan, LSW, learned there was something wrong with her son, Tucker, when a cystic hygroma was detected at her first ultrasound appointment.

At that time, she was experiencing numbness on the right side of her body.  Soon after, a large lesion was detected on her brain stem, MS was diagnosed, and treatment began.

Brenda had many difficult decisions to make including:

• Continuing to work in her "dream job" or...