Miscarriage and the workplace resources In 2019 I researched and wrote a hub of resources for the Miscarriage Association on miscarriage and the workplace. I also recorded a podcast at a Women at Work event in Cambridge and represented the Miscarriage Association at a cross-government working group. The Pregnancy Loss Pledge Since then, the Miscarriage…
I’ve recently finished editing an audio conversation with two women who have experienced pregnancy after loss. We chatted over Zoom, sharing what we found hard, how we coped and what advice we would have for someone going through something similar. I’ve done a few of these conversations recently. It’s part of a suggestion I made…
My biggest worry is not piles, or stretch marks. It’s losing my baby again. Do you want to ‘end’ or ‘delete’ your pregnancy? There’s a picture in an app on my phone of a tiny embryo. Apparently, my baby is the size of a peach. Their tiny heart is beating fast. Except it isn’t. I’ve…
Samaritans have been building a hub of online safety resources for everyone who might use the internet to seek support or talk about suicide, suicidal feelings and self-harm. The most recent addition is guidance for parents on talking to your child about self-harm and suicide content online. I wrote this for them earlier this year….
Ten years of APP peer support Action on Postpartum Psychosis have been offering life-saving peer support to women and their families since 2012. Over the last ten years, I have delivered their peer supporter training sessions and created new resources for them. Their peer support offering has gone from strength to strength. They now offer…
Supporting rail staff to manage remote contacts with vulnerable people Samaritans have just launched a guidance document I wrote for them earlier this year. The document is for people working on customer services or social media platforms at train operating companies across the UK. It provides support and guidance to help them support and signpost…
My book on how to support someone after a miscarriage, ectopic or molar pregnancy has been published. It has information on miscarriage, ectopic and molar pregnancies, the possible physical and emotional impacts and other related issues. It explores how to talk about them, practical matters, providing ongoing support and helping someone through pregnancy after loss….
18 years ago a doctor prescribed me antidepressants as if they were painkillers. I’ve tried to reduce my dose or come off them many times since. Now I think I’m stuck on them for life. Usually I’m OK with this. But sometimes it feels quite scary. Yesterday I heard a radio report about a new…
The Miscarriage Association has recently published a hub of information and support resources for employees, employers, managers, colleagues and HR staff. After a year spent researching, writing and creating the information, case studies and films, it’s fantastic to see them live. Ironically, I suffered a missed miscarriage during this time. Needless to say the Miscarriage…
1915 In 1915, Margaret Llewelyn Davies edited and published ‘Maternity – Letters From Working Women’. This moving collection of letters from members of the Women’s Co-operative Guild details their experiences of pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, stillbirth, infant death and parenting. At the end of every letter was listed the family salary and the number of miscarriages,…
Today is the start of Baby Loss Awareness Week 2019. A week to remember babies who were lost in pregnancy, during birth or soon afterwards. I wanted to write something in honour of little Sprout whom we lost in August. Sprout was only on the brink of being – a seven-week-old embryo whose heart had…
I’m pleased to report that my rewrite of the Supporting someone you know leaflet from the Miscarriage Association is online and in print now. We identified the need to update this resource as part of the pregnancy loss and mental health project – but obviously its application is much wider. We didn’t do any resource-specific…
In 2017 I developed a content plan and wrote 26 articles for Bupa’s new workplace mental health hub. I used to be a workplace ‘health check’ consultant for Time to Change and I enjoyed using my knowledge and experience of the issues involved to create resources that would help organisations make positive change. All the…
I recently worked with Hemihelp (now part of Contact) to help them with training for volunteer Facebook group moderators for their peer support group on the platform. The group was established in 2007 and became more active in 2011. It has over 5,000 members and over 11,000 interactions each month. It seems to be a…