WBAMC remembers babies lost

By Marcy SanchezOctober 24, 2016

WBAMC remembers babies lost
1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Maj. Rene Turner (center), Clinical Nurse Specialist, Maternal-Child Health Nursing, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, reads the significance of the annual Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day during an observance outside St. Martin's Dining... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
WBAMC remembers babies lost
2 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Maj. Rene Turner (center), Clinical Nurse Specialist, Maternal-Child Health Nursing, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, along with parents and families, prepare to release white balloons into the sky during an observance for the annual Pregnancy a... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
WBAMC remembers babies lost
3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – White balloons are released into the sky at William Beaumont Army Medical Center during an observance for the annual Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, Oct. 15. The observance welcomed parents, families and staff members who have suffered the... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
WBAMC remembers babies lost
4 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Pvt. Allen Mattox, computer/ detections system repairer, 47th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, holds his wife, Paige Mattox, during an observance for the annual Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembranc... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
WBAMC remembers babies lost
5 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

William Beaumont Army Medical Center's Labor and Delivery ward held an observance in honor of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day outside St. Martin's Dining Facility, Oct. 15.

The observance provided support to parents and families that have dealt with a miscarriage, stillbirth, or the death of a newborn.

"What we're trying to do is not just give memory and show support regarding the remembrance but to also bring people together that have experienced the same thing," said Capt. Jennifer Stachura, labor and delivery nurse and member of WBAMC's bereavement team. "We know that sometimes families have support but isolation may still occur because families may not know how to talk to other people about a loss."

A group of specially trained nurses, called the bereavement team, offer parents who may experience such a loss support and education about stages of grieving, emotional upkeep and the level of care necessary for such sensitive circumstances.

"When they come to the hospital to deliver their baby, that's not the last time they hear from us," said Stachura, a native of Chicago. "I can't tell you how many times I've just sat and held my patient and hugged her while she just cried to me."

During the observance families demonstrated support for one another and participated in a personalized balloon release with names of those lost.

Jamie Walker, an Army veteran and spouse of Staff Sgt. Isaiah Walker, cable systems specialist, 86th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, shared her story of losing her daughter in 2012 and her family's grieving process.

"(The observance) means a lot because for many families, this may be the one time that somebody acknowledges that their child ever existed," said Walker. "Whether someone lost their child at six weeks (gestation) or whether they lost their child at birth, they lost a child that they were planning for. They lost a daughter or lost a son, you lose so much."

Walker recalled personal experiences where friends and families wouldn't even mention her pregnancy or child and how it made it difficult to speak about her daughter.

"Whenever a family loses their child, there's going to be those people that don't speak to those families at all. You lose some friends, you lose some family," said Walker. "For many families they do feel alone, they feel like they should be ashamed of it."

Bereavement teams such as the one at WBAMC conduct follow-up phone calls and educational briefs to help parents coping with loss.

"You develop a bond and it's beyond the nurse patient bond because you went through something together. As a nurse, we want to give compassion and make things better," said Stachura. "Of the most profound connections I've ever had with any patients are with my bereavement patients. I think it takes a very strong heart sometimes to take care of grieving parents because it can emotionally take a very strong toll on you as well."

Because the potential for loss doesn't just apply to the Labor and Delivery Ward, other departments throughout WBAMC also train for bereavement care in an effort to increase understanding and awareness of parent's grieving and emotional conditions.

Thanks to events like the Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day observance, Walker is comfortable talking about her daughter and reiterated the importance of the event for parents.

"It truly means the world to have the hospital thinking about us and hosting an event," said Walker. "It's ok to talk about my daughter; we're all here for each other."