08/26/2026
‼️Trigger warning, pregnancy and infant loss‼️
Every doula should have bereavement training.
Not just bereavement doulas.
Every birth worker.
Because babies die. In every stage of pregnancy.
Sometimes a family who expected to bring their baby home instead leaves the hospital with empty arms. Sometimes a loss happens unexpectedly in the middle of what everyone thought was going to be a normal birth.
And when that happens, we need birth professionals who know how to be present without making the situation more painful.
We need to know not to say, “You can always have another baby.”
We need to know that “At least you know you can get pregnant” is not comforting.
We need to know that asking, “When are you going to try again?” is never an appropriate response to someone’s grief.
We need to understand that a rainbow baby does not replace the baby who died.
And perhaps most importantly, we need to learn how to recognize our own grief and trauma so that we don’t make a grieving family carry ours, too.
You may have never called yourself a bereavement doula. You may never intend to specialize in pregnancy or infant loss, But if you work in birth, you are going to encounter loss.
Bereavement education isn’t about having all the right words. It’s about understanding what grief can look like, knowing how to support parents through the unexpected death of their baby, and learning how to hold space without centering ourselves.
The goal isn’t just to support families through the births we hope for,It’s to be prepared for the births that don’t go the way any of us planned.
“I read a book in my doula training” isn’t cutting it anymore. Prepare yourself so you can pivot if the unthinkable happens. Education is power and if a training is what helps you cut down the risk of further traumatizing a client then it’s worth the time and money.
