{"id":11703,"date":"2012-12-10T16:49:42","date_gmt":"2012-12-10T16:49:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stillbirthday.com\/?page_id=11703"},"modified":"2013-08-13T13:38:56","modified_gmt":"2013-08-13T13:38:56","slug":"invisible-pregnancy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/stillbirthday.com\/invisible-pregnancy\/","title":{"rendered":"Invisible Pregnancy"},"content":{"rendered":"

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306 pages, paperback.<\/p>\n

Contact us for bulk purchase discounts for prenatal care facilities.<\/p>\n

Your purchase\u00a0will be matched for an equal\u00a0quantity\u00a0to be distributed to birth centers.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Our next birth center is Central Texas Birth Center<\/a>,<\/p>\n

who will receive 50 copies\u00a0in honor of Birth Without Fear<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Error:<\/strong> Contact form not found.<\/p><\/p>\n


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An Inside Look<\/h2>\n

Stillbirthday provides real, printable birth plans and gentle, honoring explanations for every kind of birth experience, we have professional doulas in every US state and internationally, listed here to meet you as soon as you discover a possible pregnancy\/infant loss, who are trained to come alongside you prior to, during and after the birth of your baby, we have valuable tools for immediate postpartum care, including lactation professionals who can support you when facing lactation after loss, and immediate farewell decisions such as funeral planning.<\/p>\n

The book The Invisible Pregnancy<\/em> picks up after these immediate aspects of your experience have passed.\u00a0 When it feels as if everyone you love has moved on, and you feel alone in the dark, this book is intended to meet you in the darkness.\u00a0 It is filled with 40 gentle challenges that I present as “dares” to help you make sense of the feelings and of the experiences you are faced with.\u00a0 I share some of the obstacles I faced, my interpretation of the rapid changes to my baby’s physical form, and why I believe it is important that grief be nurtured and disciplined.<\/p>\n

While the book is affirming and gentle, it is in fact challenging.\u00a0 Grief is labor, and in this book, there are some difficult tasks.\u00a0 <\/strong>This book lets you know that it is important to honor the space after loss.\u00a0 It is important to recognize that you need care.\u00a0 It is important to nurture your grief, through being gentle, giving yourself time, allowing for freedom to explore and identify all that is lost and all the emotions you are left with.\u00a0 It is equally important to discipline your grief, by setting healthy frames around your nurturing, so that you are reminded and encouraged to continue to grow toward healing.\u00a0 Through the support of this book, you see the importance of having\u00a0sufficient proportions of nurturance and discipline, for your biggest growth and strongest healing.<\/p>\n

The Invisible Pregnancy<\/em> draws from parallels of pregnancy and grief<\/strong>: from identifying and confirming your grief pregnancy, to discovering the gender of your grief, to learning skills in laboring through the contractions of offense that squeeze your spirit and finally, to giving birth to healing, it is written in an affirming way to remind you that you are a mother and that your experiences are valuable.<\/p>\n

The book culiminates with forty dares, assuring you that simply rushing through and checking off each activity will not make healing happen.\u00a0 Each “grief pregnancy” is different, just as every mother-child relationship and every pregnancy is different.\u00a0 This journey, this “grief pregnancy” takes time.\u00a0 It takes your care, and your full presence.\u00a0 Sometimes, for some mothers, it will require “interventions”.\u00a0 In the book, I talk about what some of these might be, such as seeking the support of a professional counselor, a wise spiritual leader, or a support group, and how these don’t replace your own “labor”, but serve to help you in continuing to reach forward.\u00a0 This is your journey, your labor, your grief pregnancy.<\/p>\n

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In his book Oxytocin: The Hormone of Healing and Hope,<\/em> Dr. Stoller looks at the impact of the synthetic form of oxytocin, named Pitocin, on childbirth and on grief.\u00a0 He and I both agree that utilizing the hormone\u00a0oxytocin in grief\u00a0can prevent a need for additional pharmacological support.\u00a0 Sharing his own first hand account of using oxytocin after the death of his son, Dr. Stoller includes in his book how\u00a0prescribing physicians can\u00a0contact compounding pharmacies to create a nasal spray or tablets for sublingual use.\u00a0 While I concur with his findings on the benefits of oxytocin both during childbirth and during bereavement, I firmly believe that each mother can harness her own rich well of natural oxytocin<\/em> first, and perhaps instead of, more synthetic versions of healing aids, including Pitocin.\u00a0 The Invisible Pregnancy<\/em> offers several activities designed to help establish natural oxytocin.<\/p>\n

Finally, in the book I discuss what “giving birth to healing” might be like for you.\u00a0 It is not the end, but rather a beginning.\u00a0 I don’t believe I will ever “ungrieve”.\u00a0 I will always be bereaved, because I will always be a mother.\u00a0 Discovering healing doesn’t end the painful loss; instead, it transforms it.<\/p>\n

The Invisible Pregnancy<\/em> draws from parallels of birth and death: <\/strong>what happens to your baby’s physical form after death?\u00a0 How can this be interpreted in a way that is honest, that is not frightening, that is…….beautiful?\u00a0 Eco-thanatology is an important but difficult\u00a0concept of parental bereavement and is addressed in this book.\u00a0 Shining light on the inherent spirituality within the physical changes that take place to our baby’s physical form after death\u00a0leads us back to the wonder of the spirituality of our soul and of the difference between the physical changes after death, and the wonderful, spiritual life after death.<\/p>\n

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The\u00a0Invisible Pregnancy<\/em>\u00a0is also an invitation to explore the vast spiritual potential there is in grief<\/strong>.\u00a0 I share the importance of releasing your pail to become a well,\u00a0discovering the importance of gathering morsels and nurturing them, how to grow your Self to the biggest it can be, and why these skills are\u00a0important as a mother preparing to birth her healing.\u00a0 I drew from concepts of cognitive behavioral therapy, homeopathic support for wellness, some of my most favorite places, resources and information, but most importantly, from the truth that so many stillbirthday families have shared with me, that even in the earliest of weeks, and\/or even with the most medical assistance, experiencing what is called a “pregnancy loss” is still in fact, birth.<\/p>\n

While I am Christian, this book is not actually intended for a mother of strong Christian faith.\u00a0 It is intended for a mother who perhaps does not align with a particular faith, or who\u00a0is experiencing a crisis of faith.\u00a0 The Invisible Pregnancy draws from biblical principles, highlighting trendy\u00a0concepts and bringing them back to their biblical heritage – “self\/Self” shines light on the mystery of the indwelled Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

Toni from One World Birth<\/em> aligns with these interpretations as she, too, sees the enormous need for birth professionals to have a trusting, sure and gentle way to guide mothers from the transition of being pregnant with child, to becoming “pregnant with grief”.<\/p>\n

Because releasing your pail to become a well is such an important concept of The Invisible Pregnancy<\/em>, if you make any purchase from the Holden Uganda<\/a> website, I will provide you with a $3 off\u00a0discount code from your purchase of the book when you email verification of your Holden\u00a0reciept to heidi.faith@stillbirthday.com<\/a>\u00a0prior<\/em> to your purchase of the book.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>This is well 91 in Uganda\u00a0– dedicated to all loss mothers.<\/p>\n

Here are just a few of the dares I challenge you with:<\/p>\n