From Connection to Collaboration: Strengthening Perinatal Loss Support

In a time where so much collaboration happens virtually, there is still something uniquely valuable about being together in person.

Recently, I traveled to Utah on behalf of RTZ and the National Perinatal Loss Collaborative to attend the USPAL Network meeting and Utah Stillbirth Center Symposium.

With Pregnancy After Loss Support (PALS) recently becoming part of RTZ, being present for the USPAL Network meeting felt especially important. Pregnancy after loss has long been an important part of our work, and this transition creates new opportunities to strengthen connections among organizations and professionals supporting families through subsequent pregnancies.

But some of the most meaningful moments of the trip happened outside of the formal sessions.

Reconnecting

The gathering offered a rare opportunity to reconnect face-to-face with colleagues and advocates I have known for many years through pregnancy and infant loss work.

Among them were Debbie from SHINE for Autumn Act, Emily from Count the Kicks, Tomeka of Jace’s Journey, Megan from the Recurrent Pregnancy Loss Association, author and advocate Jill Lens, Jenn from Empty Arms, and Maddie from Northwestern, along with many others working to improve care and support for bereaved families.

I also got to meet a few new people too! Katherine of Embrace Foundation, Lin Yuan who teaches a Birth Preparation course for RTZ, and Jenn from Empty Arms. 

These conversations allowed us to catch up and brainstorm new ideas.

We talked about potential speakers and topics for future NPLC webinars, ways to lift up the work and resources of other organizations, and opportunities to create stronger connections across the field. Conversations with colleagues from North Carolina also opened the door to exploring what a regional perinatal loss collaborative, based on our work on rural Eastern Oregon, might look like there.

Getting Resources Where They Are Needed

One interaction during the trip particularly impacted me. I met a nurse working in rural Utah who told me she had no pregnancy and infant loss resources to provide to the families she serves.

Because I had brought sample materials with me, I was able to give her a packet of RTZ family resources to take back to her community.

There are healthcare professionals across the country who want to provide compassionate, informed care after pregnancy and infant loss but may not have access to the resources, education, or connections they need. At the same time, organizations throughout this field have already developed extraordinary resources and expertise.

How do we connect the two? 

Stronger Through Collaboration

That is at the heart of what we are building through the National Perinatal Loss Collaborative.

We don’t believe every organization or community needs to develop everything independently. Instead, we can share resources, learn from one another, identify gaps, amplify good work already happening, and build relationships that make it easier to connect families and providers with support.

The trip to Utah was a reminder that being in the room matters. Relationships matter. And when we create opportunities for people doing this work to find one another, those connections can travel far beyond the room itself.