As an SBD Event Guest, please know that you are so important to the stillbirthday global paradigm of supporting in the spaces where birth and bereavement meet!  Be sure to familiarize yourself with our main workshops page, as well as our pages on speakers and hosts, including our guest feedback page where you can let us know how your event went!

 

 

Heidi Faith, the founder of stillbirthday, is an author, doula, chaplain and international speaker, and has been featured in newspapers, radio shows, news reports and several other social media tools to raise awareness and increase support in the spares where birth and bereavement meet. She is available to speak at your next conference, seminar, presentation or other event.

 

Presenter Training

If you are a member or leader of a birth professionals circle and are interested in maximizing your resources while equipping your team with knowledge to support families in the spaces where birth & bereavement meet, you are invited to a special time in Kansas City with Heidi Faith, in our beautiful M0M Center.

 

Plenary

As a plenary speaker, I generally speak on the subjects of:

• interdisciplinary, multi-level perinatal palliative and bereavement care.
• the importance of recognizing both parents and living children they may have.
• the importance of validating a pregnancy loss as the birth and death that it is.
• finding, identifying, and understanding God through loss.
• preparing young ladies for maidenhood

Keynote

“The role of each professional and the community in perinatal or neonatal loss” (keynote or 1/2 day presentations)  This includes:

• appropriate diagnosis or death notification
• learning from the mother’s reaction.
• assessing her immediate situation/experience.
• helping the mother navigate her response and emotions.
• helping the mother assimilate her experience in a positive, healing and validating way.
• supporting the mother during the childbirth experience.
• providing personalized options for the mother and family during their hospital stay.
• leaving an imprint for longterm healing.
• helping professionals identify and express grief.
• understanding why each of these things are imperative for optimal health.

Workshops

 

I offer intimate training workshops for medical and/or birth professionals, on companioning in bereavement, as well as workshops for mothers and for couples.  I am also available for more intimate Stillbirthday Sacred Circles for mothers.  Visit the workshops page to learn about the amazing workshops.

 

If you are interested in having Heidi Faith speak at your next engagement, please submit the form below.   You’re also invited to learn about our full SBD Speakers Team.

 

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Previous invitations outside of SBD events have included small group functions, mom meetings, and the following:

Germany – Perinatal Healthcare and Bereavement Support

Germany – How Mothers can Gather Tools for Healing

Canada – Perinatal Healthcare and Bereavement Support

Virginia – Perinatal Healthcare and Bereavement Support

Kansas City – How Mothers can Gather Tools for Healing

Kansas City – How the Congregation Supports Bereaved Mothers

Florida – Mod Baby, Inc. Mothers Workshop

Florida – October Remembrance Event

Pennsylvania – 5th annual Perinatal & Early Infant Loss Conference

Australia – BellyBellyKelly

Australia – Crisis Intervention & Management Australasia

Progressive Parenting with Gena Kirby

Stillbirthday has also been featured in radio, television, news, and other media.  You can visit our executive team page for examples.

 

Some things people are saying about Heidi Faith and stillbirthday,

including some special inspiration  that some hope to leave for others:

Heidi shares her experience and heart and most of all, spirit. We ALL loved her spirit. We all wanted to “put a Heidi in our pocket” when we left. She was amazing.

Cleansing, washing, soaking up and sharing, all symbolic to many things – too many to name at once!

Who are we? What do we bring to births, to women’s experience in still birth or loss? Have mercy on yourself. Get in HER space. Leave your stuff at the door.

We paired up, shared with a friend, our deepest hurts, loss and trials – by stating it on our little window. We started healing from this one little exercise. Wonderful.

So many women who are strong and courageous and bring so much love and tender care to hurting mamas.  What an honor to spend time with them.

Heidi is a beautiful light in the darkness.

It was such an honor to hold little Miriam for so long.  I felt like I was holding her for all of the mamas out there who cannot hold their babies.

We all are called to different work with mother’s  – what is YOUR calling, how are you called?

You are such a beautiful lady, Heidi, in heart, body and spirit!

This was a wonderful workshop – THANK YOU to all women who came and shared and went “deep”  Blessings to all of you!

I hope in the future you can attend one of Heidi Faith’s workshops.  She is a treasure.

I am inspired by you kindness and compassion to all of those around you. Every one should take a lesson from your existence.  Your grace, ability to see past the negativity and your quest to always try to see the greater good of people. You are an inspiration to many.

I am so honored to be part of stillbirthday in my little way. Thanks for giving me the opportunity Heidi.

Psalm 18:32-34  the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer  and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. Psalm 119:23  Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes. 1 Samuel 30:6  And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. Deuteronomy 31:6  Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” John 16:33  I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

Heidi,  this is my favorite verse and I hope it inspires you: This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad. You do great work; keep it up!!!

Isaiah 41:10  fear not, for I am with you;  be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you,  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 1 Chronicles 16:11  Seek the LORD and his strength;  seek his presence continually! Exodus 15:2 The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. Philippians 4:13  I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. Leo Buscaglia

Heidi you pretty much single handedly convinced me to take my faith seriously again.  You are doing amazing works and helping so many people.  You are a blessing to families.

Heidi: “The Lord bless thee and keep thee; The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.” Numbers 6:24-26. Thank you for all that you do. I admire you more than I can say.

Heidi, you are such a wonderfully inspiring, compassionate and forgiving woman. You have provided a loving and beautiful site to support women and their families during some of the darkest days of their lives.

I love Psalm 33 and thought it might give you some comfort: We put our hope in the LORD.    He is our help and our shield.   In him our hearts rejoice,  for we trust in his holy name.  Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD,  for our hope is in you alone.

I have this quote on my blog, and I think that it is appropriate: “Everything is always okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.”

The rain to the wind said, You push and I’ll pelt.’ They so smote the garden bed That the flowers actually knelt, And lay lodged–though not dead. I know how the flowers felt.” ― Robert Frost

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. -Epictetus

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.  It’s not.”  -Dr. Seuss

 ‎”The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest: It blesseth him that gives and him that takes. Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes The throned monarch better than his crown. His scepter shows the force of temporal power, The attribute to awe and majesty, Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings. But mercy is above this sceptered sway; It is enthroned in the hearts of kings; It is an attribute of God himself; And earthly power doth then show like God’s When mercy seasons justice.” -The Merchant of Venice

This is really long, but I hope it inspires you. It’s from my favorite hymn…    Praise to the Lord, who over all things so wondrously reigneth, Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth! Hast thou not seen how thy desires ever have been Granted in what He ordaineth? Praise to the Lord, who hath fearfully, wondrously, made thee; Health hath vouchsafed and, when heedlessly falling, hath stayed thee. What need or grief ever hath failed of relief? Wings of His mercy did shade thee. Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee; Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee. Ponder anew what the Almighty can do, If with His love He befriend thee. Praise to the Lord, who, when tempests their warfare are waging, Who, when the elements madly around thee are raging, Biddeth them cease, turneth their fury to peace, Whirlwinds and waters assuaging. Praise to the Lord, who, when darkness of sin is abounding, Who, when the godless do triumph, all virtue confounding, Sheddeth His light, chaseth the horrors of night, Saints with His mercy surrounding. Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him! All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him. Let the Amen sound from His people again, Gladly for aye we adore Him.

‎”For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11.

Proverbs 16:9- In his heart a man plans his course,    but the LORD determines his steps. Just remember that the One who set the very stars in their course has also set you on a path. He knows just where He’s taking you, and even though the way may be difficult, God will not let you fall.

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling) i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart) EE Cummings

 St. Thérèse of Lisieux: “You know that our Lord does not look at the greatness or difficulty of our action, but at the love with which you do it. What, then, have you to fear?”

If freckles were lovely, and day was night,  And measles were nice and a lie warn’t a lie,  Life would be delight,– But things couldn’t go right For in such a sad plight  I wouldn’t be I. If earth was heaven and now was hence, And past was present, and false was true,  There might be some sense  But I’d be in suspense  For on such a pretense  You wouldn’t be you.  If fear was plucky, and globes were square, And dirt was cleanly and tears were glee Things would seem fair,– Yet they’d all despair,  For if here was there  We wouldn’t be we. EE Cummings

 Here are some scripture references that I pray will encourage you. Prov 3:3-6, Josh 1:7-9, Romans 12:9, Micah 6:8….he who refreshes others will also be refreshed.

You have a faith that shines like a beacon and inspires me to strengthen mine. You also inspire me to be a better person. You are a rare gem, my friend. You are perhaps the most Christ-like person I know.

2) Then Mary stood up, greeted them all, and said to her fellow believers, “Do not weep and do not be troubled and do not waver, because His grace will be with you completely and it will protect you. 3) Instead, let us praise His greatness, because He has prepared us and made us into mature (finished or complete) people.” 4) Mary’s words turned their hearts to the Good, and they began to discuss the words of the Savior. -Gnostic Gospels of Philip, Mary Magdelene, and Thomas -Joseph B. Lumpkin

You are the most graceful woman I’ve ever had thee privilege of interacting with.

Heidi, You are so inspiring to me! It’s one thing to want to help ease the suffering of people around you, but to create something like stillbirthday is on a whole other level of humanity. It is not only compassionate, supportive, kind and positive, but also comprehensive in its information and resources, but in a really user friendly way. You have reached out to me, a stranger, with genuine love and like you really care. You make a difference to people in their most vulnerable and fragile times, and you do this with such grace, professionalism and warmth. Not many people can combine all these traits successfully. You should be so proud of the person you are, and the contribution you are making to the world.

Psalm 59:9-10- You are my strength, I watch for you;   you, God, are my fortress,  my God on whom I can rely.

“A man, who never took the name of the Maker in vain, who always read his Bible diligently, who never failed to rely on God’s promises & looked upon Him for protection, surely such a man as this, could not have been a disbeliever, or any other than what he was, a true Christian gentleman….From the time of the death of our little Edward, I believe my husband’s heart was directed towards religion & as time passed on – when Mr. Lincoln became elevated to Office…then indeed to my knowledge – did his great heart go up daily, hourly, in prayer to God – for his sustaining power. When too – the overwhelming sorrow came upon us, our beautiful bright angelic boy, Willie was called away from us, to his Heavenly Home, with God’s chastising hand upon us – he turned his heart to Christ ”  -a quote from Abraham Lincoln’s wife

“I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.” “The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be, wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time. In the present civil war it is quite possible that God’s purpose is something different from the purpose of either party — and yet the human instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of the best adaptation to effect His purpose. I am almost ready to say that this is probably true — that God wills this contest, and wills that it shall not end yet. By his mere great power, on the minds of the now contestants, He could have either saved or destroyed the Union without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And, having begun He could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds.” “Both [North and South] read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces; but let us judge not that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered; that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes.”  -quotes from Abraham Lincoln

And this is from Joseph to his brothers in the OT- Genesis 50:20 “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

‎”Lord, give me the heart of a child and the awesome courage to live it out” –Catherine Doherty

You are an inspiration.  Your example makes me want to live my faith better, because I see through what you have done what CAN be done.

“The ways of the Lord are not comfortable, but we were not created for comfort, but for greatness, for good.” – Pope Benedict XVI “The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.” 1 John 3:1 When I am down on myself, I think of that last quote, and suddenly everything makes sense. Also: “Love of Christ does not distract us from interest in others, but rather invites us to responsibility for them, to the exclusion of no one….” and “The way Jesus shows you is not easy. Rather, it is like a path winding up a mountain. Do not lose heart! The steeper the road, the faster it rises towards ever wider horizons.” – both of Pope John Paul II

You are precious and amazing and have done more work on stillbirthday in less than a year than any other woman could have done in a lifetime!

Stillbirthday.com is full of resources that helped me greatly with my loss last year.

Heidi is a wonderful woman and probably a good part of my softening up. My faith has come back, not completely, but some. I know I can turn to her in all my trials and I’m truly thankful for that. When I can’t pray, she does. She has got the best heart.

 One of my dear friends passed away yesterday. Heidi helped find the charity that we will be asking for donations in her memory to go to.

We need to spend more time holding each up, and less time knocking each other down. More kindness, less rudeness. More love, less judgment. I am so sorry for anyone who has experienced a pregnancy loss, and even more so for those who lost their precious babies late in their pregnancies. I hope each one of you was able to hold your precious little one, whether in your arms or in your heart, and that you have been (or will be) able to find peace again. You will never forget… but perhaps, one day, your hearts will hurt just a little less.

So blessed to have found this site. It is the first practical, and healing site I’ve found. After 18 yrs of losses, I praise the Lord He is lifting people up who understand and have a heart to minister to the broken hearted. Blessings to your efforts!

Thanks for all that you do at stillbirthday.com.  I love all of your articles, especially when you talk about your faith and what Scripture says.  I especially loved the piece about spiritual warfare in pregnancy loss.  I have had two losses in the last 6 mo this and I never knew it could be so hard.  I am very grateful for the amazing resource that you have created.  Thanks!

I work with low income mothers who have very few legitimate  mental health resources available to them.  stillbirthday.com is one of the places that I can send those who lose their babies that doesn’t require them to have anything but access to the internet.  My clients have overwhelmingly said positive things about the site.  I’m pleased to see it getting the credit it so genuinely deserves. It takes a brave soul to face a loss.  It takes a braver soul to use her loss to help others to face theirs.