Healing from the Trauma of Pregnancy Loss: Reclaiming Your Reproductive Story

This book aims to help would-be parents and their supporters better understand how pregnancy loss happens, why it is so uniquely traumatic, how experiences of grief and coping can vary, and how sufferers can move forward after these devastating events. Anyone who has faced the trauma of pregnancy loss—be it a miscarriage, stillbirth, or other experience of heartbreak—knows how lonely, frightening, and overwhelming it can be. These losses, although tragically common, are rarely spoken about, and can leave bereaved would-be parents feeling guilty, shunned, and full of shame. Their friends and family may also feel helpless and unsure of how to react. Based on personal and clinical experience and a deep understanding of the research on pregnancy loss, Dr. Jaffe offers a personable, supportive, and caring voice to serve as a companion in those long hours of grief. The book aims to help readers reflect on pregnancy loss and grief, and to find ways of coping and a path to healing and change. Dr. Jaffe focuses on the concept of the reproductive story: the sometimes conscious, but often unconscious hopes and dreams people internalize about becoming a parent. She shows readers how to uncover and recognize their story—as well as their power to edit that story, write new endings, and continue their journey.