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October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, and we are trying to honor each and every one of those losses. Each one has brought significant pain to many people, including grief that is most difficult to acknowledge and navigate. Today\u2019s show focuses on one such loss that has led to the creation of a specific kind of support for thousands.\nLindsey Henke is the founder and Executive Director of Pregnancy After Loss Support. She is a clinical social worker specializing as a reproductive mental health therapist with a focus on the grief and trauma that happens after a perinatal loss and the pregnancy that follows. She is also a writer, wife, and, most importantly, a mother to two beautiful daughters and one sweet boy. Tragically, her oldest daughter, Nora, was stillborn after a healthy full-term pregnancy in December 2012. Lindsey\u2019s second daughter, Zoe, was born healthy and alive in March of 2014. Her writing about life after loss has been featured in Listen to Your Mother, Scary Mommy, Healthline, and The New York Times. Lindsey has had the honor of speaking all over the world on the topic of pregnancy after a previous perinatal loss, including at the 2020 Moms\u2019 Maternal Mental Health Forum 2015, Pregnancy and Infant Death Alliance 2016 Conference, Postpartum Support International 2019 Conference, The 2019 Stillbirth Summit, and at The International Women\u2019s Maternal Mental Health 2019 Conference in Paris. She is currently working on her first book.\nShow Highlights:\n\nHow and why Lindsey started Pregnancy After Loss Support (PALS), an online support organization for the birth person who is experiencing pregnancy after loss\n\nHow Lindsey had a stillborn daughter in 2012 after a full-term pregnancy---a devastating and heartbreaking experience\n\nHow she relied on writing and psychotherapy to help her heal\n\nLindsey\u2019s second pregnancy with her daughter, Zoe, and how she made weekly posts as a blogger\n\nLindsey found that there wasn\u2019t a support space for those experiencing pregnancy after loss\n\nHow the PALS group was formed and then blossomed into 15 groups for thousands of members\n\nHow Lindsey digests the research in the field of pregnancy loss to meet the specific needs and wants of the community\n\nWhat\u2019s unique about the experience of pregnancy after loss\n\nThe insensitive comments that people make during a pregnancy after loss experience\n\nThe amount of fear and anxiety that occur in pregnancy after loss\n\nThe balance of grief, fear, and stress, along with joy and hope\n\nKnowing when the \u201cexpected anxiety\u201d crosses over into the need to seek professional help\n\nInvalidating messages that may come from healthcare providers and family members\n\nThe dance between choosing hope and holding onto fear\n\nThe circles of grief and how we need to seek support\n\nThe prevalence of postpartum depression and anxiety in subsequent pregnancies\n\nHow friends and family can be supportive in validating the experience of the mother\n\nWhy you should think about what you say and how you say it to someone who has had a pregnancy loss\n\nOther steps that family, friends, and healthcare providers can do to give additional support to moms with pregnancy after loss\n\nResources:\nPregnancy After Loss Support\nFacebook: Pregnancy After Loss Support\nInstagram\nFacebook: LindseyMHenke