The Glimmer Podcast

Samantha Payne (CEO and founder of Pink Elephants) engages Tahyna MacManus in a discussion about the grief of miscarriage, creating the documentary 'Misunderstandings of Miscarriage' and hopes for women in the future. The two professional women reflect on their own pregnancy loss' experiences and the need for letting go of shame and disenfranchised grief.  Links: Websites: https://www.pinkelephants.org.au/https://www.mumdocumentary.com/Instagram handles: - glimmer_project - pinkelephantssupport - tahynamacmanus Special thank you's to Samantha Payne for hosting this season of The Glimmer Podcast and Corey Green from transducer audio for editing and audio production. https://www.transducer-audio.com/

A miscarriage doula is someone who provides knowledgeable guidance and support to people who experience pregnancy loss at any gestation in pregnancy. They provide emotional and mental support through grief coaching and are trauma-informed individuals.Samantha Payne (CEO and founder of Pink Elephants) engages Arden Cartrette in a heartfelt and compassionate discussion about the grief of miscarriage. The two women  have personal and professional experience working in the pregnancy loss space  and together they share wisdom and insights from their own journeys. Links: Websites: https://www.pinkelephants.org.au/https://themiscarriagedoula.co/Instagram handles: - themiscarriagedoula - glimmer_project - pinkelephantssupport Special thank you's to Samantha Payne for hosting this season of The Glimmer Podcast and Corey Green from transducer audio for editing and audio production. https://www.transducer-audio.com/

Sarah Roberts is a grief councilor, creator, teacher and healer. She is the founder of ‘The Empty Cradle’ which supports women who have lost the opportunity for motherhood. The Empty Cradle is a place where mourning, complexity, spirituality, hope, ambition and lifestyle collide. Samantha Payne (CEO and founder of Pink Elephants) engages Sarah in an interview about the identity grief of involuntary childlessness, identity annihilation  and societal perceptions. Sarah is a wealth of knowledge both personally and professionally. She leaves the listener with hope for feeling whole and nurtured. Important links:    WEBSITE -  www.theemptycradle.com Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/involuntarychildlessness/ Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/theemptycradle/ LinkedIN - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-roberts-9606b0b/ Special thank you's to Samantha Payne for hosting this season of The Glimmer Podcast and Corey Green from transducer audio for editing and audio production. https://www.transducer-audio.com/IG handle: glimmer_project  Host Samantha Payne linked in: https://au.linkedin.com/in/samanthapaynepesn

Fatima El-Assaad and Amanda Pain join Glimmer to share their experience of how their cultural and religious backgrounds have shaped their pregnancy and baby loss journey. Links:https://www.theglimmerproject.com/ https://bluehearts.com.au/the-cause.html https://stillbirthfoundation.org.au/ www.thestillnest.com Special thank you to: - Corey Green (podcast editor - Transducer Audio)  https://www.transducer-audio.com/- Coby Grant (Winter Bear backing sound track)- Ashleigh Smith (Producer and creator of The Glimmer Project, Podcast and Online group) Social media: @glimmer_project@thestillnest.au @bluehearts_au@stillbirthfoundation 

The online Glimmer program’s beloved specialist bereavement midwife and fellow warrior Mum Liana Quinlivan joins this episode of The Glimmer Podcast to talk about putting the jigsaw of your life back together after baby loss. Liana runs the online Glimmer Program groups and has been a midwife for 15 years. Caitlin Crowley interviews Liana in this heartfelt episode of the Glimmer podcast.   After Liana’s baby ‘Dot’ died due to a skeletal malformation disorder, she felt like everything in her life had being shattered. There was so much disbelief. Liana speaks of the irony of “being the bereavement midwife with the dead baby” and feeling the need to hide from that identity. She explains the mixture of pride, love and awe of Dot and the powerful connection she shared with her. She talks about wanting to fast forward those early days and struggling to let go of Dot while tyring to maintain a connection.    Links:·       https://www.theglimmerproject.com/ ·       https://bluehearts.com.au/the-cause.html ·      https://stillbirthfoundation.org.au/   Social media:·      @glimmer_project·      @bluehearts_au·      @stillbirthfoundation  Special thank you to: - Corey Green (podcast editor - Transducer Audio)  https://www.transducer-audio.com/- Coby Grant (Winter Bear backing sound track)- Ashleigh Smith (Producer and creator of The Glimmer Project, Podcast and Online group)

Rachel Whalen joins us in this episode of the Glimmer Podcast to discuss preeclampsia, stillbirth and maternal near-death experience in pregnancy. Caitlin Crowley interviews Rachel and asks her what it was like dealing with catastrophic grief while facing her own mortality. Rachel is a preeclampsia loss mum and social media influencer who heads the Instagram @unexpectedfamilyouting. She is a writer, mother, griever and advocate. Rachel speaks about just wanting to go home and start the grieving process when Dorothy had died, however her medical condition was very serious. There was a sense of ‘why hasn’t the world just stopped? Because my world has stopped. It’s standing still.’ Rachel shares her two prior miscarriages, her diagnosis of HELLP syndrome, preeclampsia and factor V Leiden mutation and the sense of needing to ‘keep going’ because she’d been through 3 pregnancies but still didn’t have a baby alive in her arms. She embarked on her rainbow pregnancy, constant monitoring and a sense of wanting to be empowered but not worried. She explains having a letter in the chart and setting the stage for how she wanted healthcare professionals to interact with her and discuss her past and current pregnancies. Rachel explains mentally compartmentalizing during her rainbow appointment and focusing on the ‘right now.’ Caitlin expresses how hard it is to switch off the fear and try to ‘enjoy’ the moment and the rainbow pregnancy.  Rachel gives her 2 ultimate pieces of advice to the listener. She also explains how she answers people when they ask her how many children she has. Rachel explains about the relay race and ‘flying the flag’ for women who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal loss and severe pregnancy complications.   Links:https://www.theglimmerproject.com/ https://bluehearts.com.au/the-cause.html https://stillbirthfoundation.org.au/   Special thank you to: - Corey Green (podcast editor - Transducer Audio)  https://www.transducer-audio.com/- Coby Grant (Winter Bear backing sound track)- Ashleigh Smith (Producer and creator of The Glimmer Project, Podcast and Online group) Social media: @glimmer_project@bluehearts_au@stillbirthfoundation@unexpectedfamilyouting

This episode of the Glimmer Podcast is all about returning to work after miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal loss or TFMR (termination for medical reasons). It gives helpful lived experience and advice to the listener on how to navigate interactions with colleagues, clients and everyone involved in the workplace. This episode also gives helpful advice to employers and we recommend this episode to every work place whose staff may experience this type of loss. Our guest is Ann-Maree Imrie, a social worker trained in grief and bereavement. She is also the mother to her son, Xavier who was stillborn in 2015. She took five months leave from work after his loss and can attribute a huge part of her healing to the support she received from her workplace. Ann-Maree has developed her passion - 'The Baby Loss Project' - an online training program that upskills employers to create policy, and respond proactively to pregnancy loss, stillbirth and infant death. This episode references the startling findings from the ‘Price Waterhouse Cooper’ economic impact analysis on the cost of stillbirth to organisations through presenteeism, absenteeism and family breakdown. Anne-Maree Imrie shares about the ‘baby loss project’ and why it is so important. It aims to take all the fear out of the support people in trying to support the bereaved parent back to work and turning them into a ‘grief literate organization.’  Links:https://www.theglimmerproject.com https://bluehearts.com.au/the-cause.html https://stillbirthfoundation.org.au https://www.babylossproject.com/ Special thank you to: - Corey Green (podcast editor - Transducer Audio)  https://www.transducer-audio.com/- Coby Grant (Winter Bear backing sound track)- Ashleigh Smith (Producer and creator of The Glimmer Project, Podcast and Online group) Social media:@glimmer_project@bluehearts_au@stillbirthfoundation@mybabysvoice

Meagan Donaldson joins The Glimmer Podcast to talk about TFMR (termination of pregnancy for medical reasons), the importance of language and finding joy again after such heartache. Meagan is the author of ‘Still a Mum,’ which shines a spotlight on the stigma that still exists around pregnancy loss, TFMR and its impacts; not just for the parents but for other family members as well.Meagan Donaldson was 23 weeks pregnant when tests confirmed her unborn baby had a rare condition. Told the prognosis for their daughter was poor, they made a heartbreaking decision to say goodbye to their little girl. Soon after, Violet Grace was born. Still, but perfect.Meagan and Caitlin discuss the struggle of dealing with the busy practical side of babyloss and utilising writing to remember their babies. In relation to TFMR, Meagan has women writing to her saying they feel so much shame about the termination aspect of their baby loss so much so, they haven’t explained the TFMR to their families and carry the pain so privately. Meagan explains that the term ‘termination’ feels like it takes all the love out of Violet’s story and she felt this term didn’t appropriately describe the extremely difficult journey of saying goodbye to Violet Grace. She knows the choice of TFMR isn’t actually a choice and that it is made purely out of love. Meagan felt discomfort also with the word ‘died’ and preferred ‘loss’ while Caitlin feels differently. Meagan shares about celebrating Violet’s birthday through creating cakes, donating gifts in her name and referring to her whenever asked how many children they have. She explains she has ‘muted’ certain people on social media and feels sadness when seeing babies similar aged to Violet posted on social media. Meagan used social media instead to immerse herself in a different type of community – those who have lost babies. Meagan’s psychologist told her to treat herself as she would a good friend in an effort to minimize the pressure on herselfMeagan explains a need to make meaning out of this situation and try to help others going through a similar situation in the future. She created the fundraiser ‘Violet’s Gift’ which supports grieving parents after delivering a stillborn baby. Finally, Meagan explains how joy and light slowly returned to her life and that she worked hard to seek it out and actively move forward. Brunch, books, beach, looking at flowers, going for walks with her dogs, reading about resilience, random acts of kindness, meditation, seeing her psychologist, support groups and doing things to stay connected with Violet.It was hard work recovering from this immense trauma and has required a dedication that she feels has ‘felt like a fulltime job.’ At times it was too much and so at times she needed to give herself permission to just cry on the couch and ride the ‘grief hangover.’ Ultimately, what Meagan really needed to do, was to give herself some time. Links:https://www.theglimmerproject.com/https://bluehearts.com.au/the-cause.htmlhttps://stillbirthfoundation.org.au/  Booktopia link for ‘Still A mum’ link here. Website:https://meagandonaldson.com.au/You may also like to refer back to another Glimmer Podcast interview relating to TFMR with Anabel Bower, author of Miles Apart : Season 1, episode 4Special thank you to:- Corey Green (podcast editor - Transducer Audio)  https://www.transducer-audio.com/- Coby Grant (Winter Bear backing sound track)- Ashleigh Smith (Producer) 

Edwina Symonds is a red nose volunteer support line worker whose son Sebby passed away due to a rare genetic disorder. She uses writing to help grieve and also to help those around her to understand the impact child loss creates. Caitlin Crowley interviews Edwina on her work as a volunteer for the Red Nose support line.Edwina explains that working at Red Nose feels like a legacy for Sebby and her contribution through that work is his gift to the world.Edwina reassures the listener to call the 'Red Nose Crisis line' – even if you are the father-in-law, there is no grief too distant or too ‘small.’Edwina encourages people to just listen to grieving families and that there is literally nothing that you can do to help, just listen. She explains how often some of the people closest to us are the people that hurt us the most. Edwina advises in that situation to 'please come back to your child, come back to the love,’ and don’t spend your time or energy on that hurt from others. Be a lioness and protect yourself and say ‘no, I am not going to that event to spend time with that hurtful person.’ It is all just ‘fuzz.’Edwina offers suggestions for friends or family trying to ‘pull grieving people up and out of the well’ and ideal ‘tones’ to use in their texts or phone calls suggesting activities.She explains what helped her through those first most painful, ravages of grief. Edwina talks about organ donation and the pivotal role registering with the online organ donation registry plays. Please find the website link below. It takes less then 60 seconds to register and can save lives. The episode wraps with an acknowledgement of the painful journey bereaved parents walk and how time influences that path. Links:https://www.theglimmerproject.com/https://bluehearts.com.au/the-cause.htmlhttps://stillbirthfoundation.org.au/  https://www.thegriefyway.com/https://rednose.org.au/page/grief-and-loss-support-serviceshttps://www.donatelife.gov.au/register-donor-todayhttps://feelthemagic.org.au/?gclid=CjwKCAiAx8KQBhAGEiwAD3EiP1uoFvJpH3A_0wClUwkYq11msBjmR3zZdL2XmiBA9_-aeV2LRz8qLBoCa8UQAvD_BwE Special thank you to:- Corey Green (podcast editor - Transducer Audio)  https://www.transducer-audio.com/- Coby Grant (Winter Bear backing sound track)- Ashleigh Smith (Producer and creator of The Glimmer Project, Podcast and Online group) Social media:@glimmer_project@bluehearts_au@stillbirthfoundation

Priyanka Saha is many things – a pregnancy and baby loss survivor, charity founder, lawyer, and believer in hope. Having lived through a traumatic first pregnancy loss and then the death of her first born, Lily at 10 months old, Priyanka set up the Lily Calvert Fund (LCF). LCF raises awareness of grief and loss and runs a national music therapy program providing musical care kits to paediatric palliative care programs Australia wide. Priyanka shares her thoughts on parenting after loss and post traumatic growth to her audience of over 20,000 on Instagram. She is a Very Special Kids Hospice ambassador, mother to Lily’s little brother, Jasper, and often appears in media - providing commentary on baby loss and finding hope. Priyanka shares about Lily's short, but incredible life with The Glimmer Podcast. Priyanka tells Dr Ashleigh Smith that Lily brought her family and friends together in such a beautiful way. Priyanka believes there is space for all grief, be it miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death, baby or child loss, and that the compassion as a fellow loss mother just grows. Priyanka talks about her son Jasper - both the pregnancy (including how important prenatal testing was to reassure her and get her through), as well as bringing up Jasper now, and fostering the beautiful bond between two siblings who never met. She also talks about her marriage and how together they survived the most difficult days, despite the odds. Priyanka gives practical advice as to how to guide family and friends to provide the support that you need. Priyanka says that she is grateful for the person that she is now, while it doesn't make the loss ok, she is a better person for it, and offers a glimmer of hope to listeners.  Links: Instagram: @thelilycalvertfundWebsite:  https://lilycalvert.com/ https://www.theglimmerproject.com/ https://bluehearts.com.au/the-cause.html https://stillbirthfoundation.org.au/ Special thank you to Holly Ryan (Blue Hearts) who is assisting in the production of this season of The Glimmer Podcast. Thank you to Blue Hearts and the Stillbirth Foundation for supporting and funding this season of the podcast 

In this episode of The Glimmer Podcast, Dr Ashleigh Smith interviews Joy Hall. Joy offers a grandparents perspective to pregnancy loss and shares her experience as  grandmother to Marley, who was stillborn earlier last year . Joy speaks about the multiple layers of her grief - the grief for her grandchild and then the added grief and anguish she feels for the pain her child and partner are experiencing. Joy talks about the first weeks after Marley was born and the added complication of coronavirus, compounding both the physical and emotional isolation. She shares her experience with her friendship groups. How she came to accept and give understanding and compassion for family and friends who just don’t know what to say or how to provide support. She talks about the way her relationship has changed with her daughter and how she feels her role as a mother has changed. Joy explains the love that Marley has brought to her life. She shares some beautiful ways she maintains her connection to Marley, and how she keeps her memory alive. Joy talks about the pride she has for both Marley, and also for Marley's parents. This episode depicts the love and loss that grandparents of babies lost through pregnancy or newborn loss feel.  It is so important to give support and love to grandparents who find themselves experiencing this devastating loss too. Links: https://www.theglimmerproject.com/ https://bluehearts.com.au/the-cause.html https://stillbirthfoundation.org.au/ Special thank you to: Corey Green (podcast editor - Transducer Audio), Coby Grant (Winter Bear backing sound track), Holly Ryan (Producer), Blue Hearts and the Stillbirth Foundation. 

Bec Sparrow and Mia Freedman formed a strong and long-lasting friendship over their shared experience of pregnancy loss. In this episode, Dr Ashleigh Smith asks them about how they became friends. How they helped each other through their grief. How they continue to support each other during the milestones and anniversaries. Bec that a week after losing Georgie, she felt strongly that her stillborn daughter was going to turn the light in her life up, not down. Even though Bec “wishes Georgie was here, she is not, and that has changed the course of Bec’s life in some beautiful ways, for example, meeting Mia” Bec says she doesn’t focus on the day that Georgie died, as that would be selling her short, but what she contributed to her life.Bec felt like Mia was almost like her therapist. She felt as though sometimes she’d be drowning in the waves of grief, and Mia would pull her out. It felt like a fated friendship, it evolved – they later worked together at ‘Mamamia.’ It was a place that both Mia and Bec could write about their pregnancy loss – one of the only platforms that shared stories about newborn baby or pregnancy loss. Bec said that through her rainbow pregnancy, one of the tips Mia gave, was to visualize arriving home with a baby carrier coming through the front door. Mia says when her daughter May died through late miscarriage, there was no internet and she was unable to surround herself with others who had suffered similar loss. Mia notes that Bec was the first person to treat May as a person, e.g. writing May on a Christmas ornament. Mia feels that before that, she was only ever real to herself. Bec made her baby feel real and that was the biggest gift. Mia remembers when Kate Middleton gave birth, and she was trying to explain to the team at Mumamia, ‘this is going to be a tough day for a lot of people’ – when the whole world is celebrating the joy of a baby, that can be the loneliest of days for people suffering infertility or pregnancy loss. Mia made sure that on those days, she would acknowledge bereaved parents through Mamamia. It’s important to have friends when times are tough, but also for those friends to be there to cheer you on when things are good. Mia says that there are friendships for a reason, a season or a lifetime and that this friendship has transcended to be a lifetime friendship. Bec Sparrow and Mia Freedman have co-authored a beautiful book ‘Never Forgotten’ which contains stories of love, loss, and healing after miscarriage, stillbirth, and neonatal death. It is an ode to their daughters May and Georgie and all the other children who never came home. The Glimmer of hope and advice offered by Bec Sparrow is that “the raw pain that you feel in the first year or so after pregnancy loss, doesn’t stay that raw forever. It is possible to have a joyful life, even if you have a fractured heart.” Bec feels that she has a life that is full of joy, purpose and meaning. Her pain sits in her back pocket and she can chose those moments now, she is in charge of when to pull them out. “This type of loss and pain cracks our life open, if you let it.”Links: https://www.theglimmerproject.com/ https://bluehearts.com.au/the-cause.html https://stillbirthfoundation.org.au/  Link to Never Forgotten: http://cdn.mamamia.com.au/files/NeverForgotten.pdf?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Downl[%E2%80%A6]Pregnancy+Loss&utm_content=PDF&utm_campaign=Never+Forgotten Special thank you to: -Corey Green (pod

Ann-maree Imrie joins Dr Ashleigh Smith and The Glimmer Podcast today as someone who knows the struggle of pregnancy-after-loss – also known as a ‘rainbow pregnancy’ or ‘rainbow baby.’ She is a Social Worker trained in grief and mother to Xavier who is her first child. He was stillborn in 2015 and Ann-maree has since gone on to have 2 subsequent rainbow babies named Kai and Jesse.  Discussing the recent 6th anniversary of Xavier, the pair reflect on stillbirth and neonatal loss and where is fits into the narrative of their life and how they each grapple with the existential ‘why’ and ‘why this baby’. Ann-maree still sometimes feels that it was surreal to have experienced such a loss and reports feeling like out-of-body or living in an alternate reality. How over time, the episodes of deep grief of Xaviers death has moved from the initial grief that felt like it was not survivable, to now noticing that it doesn’t last as long and knows these intense feelings will ease. She focuses on nourishing her own heart during these times. She speaks of how Christmas is a difficult time and this year with school term commencing, it brought up the deep grief of Xaviers loss so acutely as it would have been his Year 1.  Ashleigh asks at what point did Ann-Maree start thinking about trying to conceive after Xavier and what emotions and thoughts ran through her mind? They then go on to discuss how each trimester of pregnancy felt different and brought different challenges. How ‘Pregnancy after loss’ is isolating in that you don't feel you 'fit in' with other pregnant mum's who have never experienced loss. How difficult it is to ‘bond’ with the baby inside and the feelings of not trusting your own body.  When the pair turn to discussing the birth of her second child who was alive and well, Ann-Maree expresses the deep grief as she realized what she had missed out on with Xavier. She then goes on to discuss how her 3rd pregnancy was different again and how at 29 weeks (the same gestation as Xavier was when she discovered no heartbeat), Ann-Maree suffered a terrible scare that brought up feelings of PTSD, grief and panic that paved the way for a difficult and awful trajectory for the remainder of her pregnancy. Her mantra that she used in both pregnancies was ‘Right now, in this moment, to the best of my knowledge, everything is fine.’ Ashleigh explains how mindfulness meditation has greatly helped in her current pregnancy.  Finally, Ann-Maree discusses the human spirit as the driving force that has given her strength and courage to face the challenges and pain she has endured in this life. Through Ann-Marie's life changing experience of parenting Xavier she has published a children’s book for bereaved families to read to the baby who lives in their heart. She has also now found her passion – The Baby Loss Project – An online training program that up skills employers to create policy, and respond proactively to pregnancy loss, stillbirth and infant death.    Links:  https://www.theglimmerproject.com/  https://bluehearts.com.au/the-cause.html    https://stillbirthfoundation.org.au/ https://www.babylossproject.com/  Special thank you to: - Corey Green (podcast editor - Transducer Audio),  - Coby Grant (Winter Bear backing sound track),  - Holly Ryan (Producer),  - Blue Hearts and the Stillbirth Foundation. 

Mitchell Delamotte joins Glimmer today to offer a ‘fathers perspective’ on pregnancy loss - an important and lesser-discussed experience. In this episode. Mitch explains how his daughter Pia’s stillbirth 4 years ago has shaped and altered his life. Dr Ashleigh Smith asks about the early days after losing Pia, what the most difficult moments were, how his gender and parenting role coloured his experience, and how he managed his grief. Mitch opens up about running, fundraising for the Stillbirth Foundation, communicating with other men, the workforce and his experience with depression. He talks about tips for acknowledging your feelings, utilizing a therapist and the benefits of exercise. Mitch talks about running half marathons and fundraising, how running has many benefits – goal setting, role modeling for his son, endorphin release, distraction and exercise. He explains that soon after Pia’s stillbirth, he could only run for 18 minutes and now can run for over 3 hours. The two discuss an email correspondence referencing the 4 year anniversary for Pia – Mitch had written in the email “it's starting to be a weird anniversary where there is a lot less grief than previous years, It's obviously not a celebration, but we cut cake like it would be. I don’t know if the English language has an appropriate word for what today feels like for myself, if there is, I certainly don't know it.” Finally, Mitch offers a glimmer of hope and piece of wisdom to the listener who may be early on in the loss of his baby. This episode is made specifically for fathers, who have experienced pregnancy loss, and we wish a special message to say Happy fathers day to all the Dad’s listening – you are not alone and I’m sorry this is such a difficult time. Links: https://www.theglimmerproject.com/ https://bluehearts.com.au/the-cause.html https://stillbirthfoundation.org.au/Special thank you to:- Corey Green (podcast editor - Transducer Audio), - Coby Grant (Winter Bear backing sound track), - Holly Ryan (Producer), - Blue Hearts and the Stillbirth Foundation. 

In the Season finale of The Glimmer Podcast, Dr Ashleigh Smith interviews Senator Kristina Keneally about her life after losing her daughter Caroline through stillbirth, political activism and spearheading the Stillbirth Inquiry. The 2018 Senate Inquiry into stillbirth has resulted in greater government funding toward research and bereavement support for affected families.  Senator Keneally explains how 20 years ago (when her daughter Caroline passed away) there was no internet, no support groups, no podcasts and the stillbirth foundation didn’t exist. She remembers feeling isolated and unable to connect with others. She talks about arranging Caroline’s funeral and leaning on her faith and the structure of the church. Kristina explains that she doesn’t believe that God medals in our lives and earthly existence in specific ways, and while initially feeling angry with God she has been able to make peace with her religion and its role in her life. She has a background in feminist theology and feels that if God is a woman, she is also a woman who has lost her only child. Senator Keneally speaks about the intersection of faith and loss – the anger and the solace. Kristina says that her life trajectory was altered because of Caroline’s stillbirth and that it has made her fearless. The two discuss the difference between fearlessness and apathy and ponder how those feelings evolve over time. Kristina believes that reproduction and the challenges that women face along the way are often misunderstood– she believes these challenges give strength to women that is underestimated. They discuss the Senate Inquiry and what it was like hearing from parents, researchers and clinicians. Senator Keneally recounts the range of emotions she felt from reading the personal accounts and impact statements that hundreds of families submitted. She describes initially feeling distraught but was later moved to anger.  She felt that the hearings became quite personal and emotional. Finally, the women discuss the future for stillbirth prevention. Senator Keneally explains that an airline tells all passengers what to do if the worst should happen – should we be educating all pregnant women about management of pregnancy loss?  Links: www.theglimmerproject.com https://www.stillbirthcre.org.au/assets/Uploads/Stillbirth-Action-and-Implementation-Plan-draft-25Feb20.pdfhttps://www.stillbirthcre.org.au/assets/Uploads/Informing-the-Stillbirth-National-Action-Plan-DRAFT.pdfhttps://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=LNW  

During this episode of The Glimmer Podcast, Dr Ashleigh Smith (founder of The Glimmer Project and 3 week online Glimmer program for women who have experienced stillbirth or neonatal loss) interviews Claire Storey - a board member for the International Stillbirth Alliance (ISA).  The ISA exists to promote global collaboration in the prevention and provision of appropriate care for families after stillbirth and neonatal death. It aspires to achieve this through public awareness initiatives, community engagement, development and promotion of best clinical practice standards and facilitating high quality collaborative research.  Claire discusses her personal experience of baby loss and becoming a UK SANDS Chairperson (stillbirth and neonatal death society), attending ISA conferences and eventual involvement with the ISA as board member. She explains the integration of stillbirth into the UN Millennial development goals and ending preventable stillbirth scorecard. She discusses the triple return on investment when health is prioritized for the woman/mother. She explains raising the parent voices initiative, advocacy and work in India and Ghana.  Discussion moves to the ‘Ending Preventable Stillbirths’ series and the estimated annual 2.6 million stillbirths. According to the data, 98% of stillbirths occur in low- and middle-income countries and therefore the ISA has turned it’s attention to addressing this devastating figure. Claire explains various funding models, recruiting and managing volunteers, sponsoring parents to attend conferences (especially from low and middle income countries) and the need for translators when working within an international organization.  Claire explains the integration of reducing neonatal death into the ISA mission and how this goes hand-in-hand with stillbirth interventions. Finally, Dr Ashleigh Smith asks Claire how people can be involved and contribute to the goals of the ISA. Claire lists a multitude of options including donation, spreading and sharing the social media posts and organizations initiatives, offering expertize such as legal, IT, HR, communications etc, joining a working group and applying to the Board.  This interview gives hope to the millions of families affected by baby loss every year. The ISA is an incredible organization working to make this world a better place.   Links: www.theglimmerproject.com https://www.stillbirthalliance.org/https://www.stillbirthcre.org.au/education-and-grants/improve-workshops/ 

Zelda Language is a Counselling Psychologist in South Africa. She has many years of experience and is currently in the process of establishing a Wellness Centre for families who have suffered pregnancy or infant loss named the Manaheim Healing centre. Dr Ashleigh Smith (creator of The Glimmer Project and 3 week online Program) interviews Zelda and they initially discuss Covid19 restrictions in South Africa and the associated sadness, isolation, unemployment and grief). Zelda opens up about her personal experience with pregnancy and newborn loss and how that left her feeling lonely – especially as a psychologist. She found people were aloof. She discusses ‘Compassionate Friends,’ ‘Voice of the unknown baby’ and the importance of specialized perinatal bereavement care. She explains how she performs hospital visits to loss parents and assists with photos and ‘walks the path’ with them. Zelda raises the issue of early and over-prescription of antidepressants in perinatal grief after miscarriage, stillbirth or newborn death. She explains how the mother or fathers personalities may impact the grieving process and relationships after baby loss, and a lack of communication can lead to a marriage breakup. She discusses the impact on the ‘fathers’ and the importance of no just trying to ‘fix’ grief but allow the grieving parents to just ‘be.’ She differentiates suicidality with expressions of unmanageable grief and strong yearnings to be with your child. Zelda talks about the self guilt of ‘what did I do wrong’ and natural desire to blame someone for the trauma. She talks about the feelings of turmoil and ‘letting down’ ones partner and trying to not let your emotions control you. The 2 women discuss the feeling of not having a baby physically in their arms and an almost ‘withdrawl syndrome’ associated with that. Zelda discusses the impact on the grandparents, siblings and the feeling of not wanting to cry in front of living siblings – and how to navigate this to establish healthy emotional expression.  Zelda advises for family members to write a letter to the child that has passed on, light a candle and have a balloon carry off the letter in a ceremony of healing. Finally, Zelda explains her vision for the Mannaheim Healing center and how to contact her for further inquiries.  Links: www.theglimmerproject.com www.mannaheim.co.za 

This episode begins with the difficult journey travelled by Jenn Hepton – an incredible and resilient woman who has experienced more heartache then many people could ever imagine. If you are feeling fragile today and worry that hearing stories of loss are too painful and raw for you at this time – please skip forward in the episode approximately 20 minutes. In this episode, Dr Ashleigh Smith discusses ‘the motherhood journey’ - all the highs and lows, challenges and triumphs that go along with fertility and parenting. Jenn Hepton, is a certified Grief, Life and Conscious Parenting Coach who uses NEUROSCIENCE + MINDFULNESS to assist parents to heal after loss and help them to live from a place of strength, consciousness, and empowerment. Jenn suffered the loss of her daughter, Loey, at 39 weeks in 2018, twins at 22 weeks in 2013 and years of infertility, miscarriages, a blood clot and eventual diagnosis of an autoimmune disorder. She felt that after losing Loey, her soul was ripped into a million pieces. Jenn felt she was in the middle of a breakdown, in the depths of PTSD and stuck in limiting beliefs and experiencing a lot of trauma. Jenn and her husband subsequently used a surrogate and now have a baby boy, Milo. It has been a long and tumultuous journey. Jenn has recently made the move from running a group coaching for pregnancy related grief to developing a conscious parenting online program. She shares her reproductive journey and what is involved with her grief group coaching. Jenn discusses the baby ‘Psychic’ Jessica McKeown and how she contributes to the grief journey for some women. The love story between Jen and Milo and how she felt when she got to hold him for the first time is so beautiful and heart warming.    Websites: www.theglimmerproject.comhttps://www.theglimmerproject.com/products/110714-The-3-week-Glimmer-Programhttps://www.lossintransition.com/about-jenn 

Dr Ashleigh Smith interviews Annabel Bower – author of the heartfelt book ‘Miles Apart’ which aims to support mothers navigating grief after the loss of a baby at any stage of pregnancy or infancy and gives practical and emotional advice on coping with the many challenges life after loss brings. Annabel has also launched a not-for-profit foundation to distribute donated copies of Miles Apart to hospitals around Australia and hopes the foundation will help raise awareness of the emotional impact of baby loss whilst also supporting those who endure it. They discuss miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death and the process of grieving. They also discuss the ‘out of body experience’ in the hospital,’ ‘the evaporation of excitement and hope for the future of a shared life together with your baby.’ Such sentiments, Ashleigh acknowledges, are only understood by women who have lived and endured the agony of pregnancy/baby loss.  Annabel explains ‘grief gas lighting’ – how you can do it to yourself or by another person. She opens up about how she felt when Miles’ due date approached and how people flock to pregnant women but avoid women after they have had a loss.  She talks about the expectations and exhaustion of grief and that initially she couldn’t open up and talk about what had happened to Miles. Annabel discusses the responses she has been receiving to her book and the loneliness of loss and why we can feel just so isolated after the loss of a baby. She talks about adjusting to the new normal and coping with the ins and outs of your life when you're grieving the loss of your baby.  Annabel writes about gritting her teeth when listening to other people trying to console her with platitudes or ‘at least’s’ – such as ‘at least you have other children’ and ‘at least you know you can get pregnant.’ Dr Ashleigh Smith explains how beneficial meditation has been for her grief and how it can help calm the mind and find peace amongst the ravages of grief.  Finally, Annabel explains how someone can donate a ‘Miles Apart’ book to hospitals Australia wide. Links: www.theglimmerproject.comhttps://www.milesapart.online/shop

This episode discusses grief after pregnancy loss, holding space, post-traumatic growth, liminal space and recommendations for further reading. Dr Ashleigh Smith interviews Heather plett - an expert on grief. Heather lost her mother in recent times and her son Matthew many years ago through stillbirth (she unfortunately had an incompetent cervix with subsequent cervical cerclage, ruptured membranes and intrauterine infection).These events shaped her life and took her from a managerial job in Canada, to being an international speaker, coach, facilitator and author – she is currently launching a book called ‘Holding space’ – which was based on her wildly successful and viral blog post from 2015. Heather radiates a sense of peaceful wisdom and mutual understanding of grief and loss. She speaks about how losing Matthew informed and changed the trajectory of her life and that in time, she felt she became ‘seasoned’ in her grief – but it took 10 years. Heather sometimes calls her grief her ‘best friend’ – saying it has made her life full of richness. She is able to sit with other people through their grief and offers non-judgment and compassion. Heather defines holding space as being willing to walk alongside another person in whatever journey they’re on without judging them, making them feel inadequate, trying to fix them, or trying to impact the outcome.  She says, when we hold space for other people, we open our hearts, offer unconditional support, and let go of judgment and control.Heather explains how her grief has changed over time and that after losing Matthew, she found a new sense of spirituality. She initially felt angry for errors in her medical care and suffered great restlessness, before eventually finding acceptance. Finally, Heather advises how the listener can move through their grief and hold space for themselves. Reminder: The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast belong solely to the individual and do not represent their employer or medical advice. Always consult your doctor. Links:www.theglimmerproject.comhttps://heatherplett.com/tag/stillbirth/https://heatherplett.com/2015/03/hold-space/https://heatherplett.com/2019/06/hold-space-new-tips-four-years-viral-blog-post/https://www.amazon.com.au/Falling-Upward-Spirituality-Halves-Life/dp/0470907754https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/promoting-hope-preventing-suicide/201705/ring-theory-helps-us-bring-comfort-in