How to Cope With Stillbirth

Coping after the death of your baby is one of the hardest things you'll ever do. You may feel like you'll never get over it. Stillbirth can happen for a variety of reasons and usually occurs when the baby is simply not compatible with life. It's devastating, but with time, you'll learn to cope.

Instructions

    • 1

      Request that your baby have his hands and feet printed as usual. If your baby has hair already, see if you can keep a lock of it to remember him by.

    • 2

      Have a special ceremony for your child. You can dress her in clothes you had bought for her and ask your pastor to bless her. You can choose to bury your child or cremate her.

    • 3

      Create a scrapbook for your baby to help you cope with the stillbirth. You can put the hand and foot prints on a page with the lock of hair, you can include pictures if you took any, ultrasound photos, poems you've written and doctor's reports. Making this memorial is one of the best things you can do to cope with your loss.

    • 4

      Ask your doctor how to deal with the changes to your body. You may have started producing milk and this only serves as a painful reminder of your loss. Your doctor can advise you of how to handle this.

    • 5

      Talk to your friends and family as much as you need to. You may want to see a psychologist to help you cope with your loss. Like losing any loved one, you need to go through the normal grieving process, which can be different for each person; joining a support group where you can talk with others in the same situation may help.

    • 6

      Understand that it's not your fault. Some children develop congenital defects and simply cannot survive or the placenta can separate from your uterus and cut off nutrients to the baby. Sometimes children are born very prematurely and they aren't developed enough to live in the world outside your womb. In a great many cases, stillbirth occurs for no known reason. None of these things are within your control, so try not to blame yourself.

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