To bring awareness and a deeper level of understanding to the pain and trauma of prenatal and postnatal grief and loss for both men and women. This seminar will cover a variety of personal and professional topics of what loss during this time looks like through the hope of the gospel and where God is in the midst of our grief. A few specific areas we hope to spend focused time and intention on will include miscarriage, stillbirth, fatal diagnoses, medical complications, premature birth, NICU trauma, neonatal death and subsequent pregnancy after loss. We hope this seminar will help educate you and your communities on the shocking realities of this journey for so many moms and couples right here in our church body. You will personally hear from two very courageous women who have been walking the road of grieving, healing and recovery for the past few years and how God continues to write their story through the lives of their babies who are here with us. If you have not been personally impacted by perinatal loss yet we hope you will still join us and invite your friends to learn more about how you can walk alongside others who are hurting.

Jessica is a LPC at The Austin Stone Counseling Center and has been working with issues of perinatal grief and loss for over 5 years. She and her husband have been married 10 years and have three young daughters. They are loss parents through an early miscarriage and have walked through the anxious journey that often comes with pregnancy after loss. Jessica is deeply humbled to speak words of healing and hope that can be found in Jesus into the lives of parents impacted by this pain through her compassionate care as a counselor.

Sarah has been married to her high school sweetheart for 4 years and is a stay at home mom to Charlotte, her miracle baby who will be turning one this December. She is also a mom to six babies who are in heaven, three lost in early pregnancy due to miscarriage and her beautiful triplets Bridget, Vivian, and Liam, born too soon at 22 weeks. Her triplets would have been 2 years old this October. She finds solace in cooking, sewing and writing. For more about Sarah’s journey, follow her at www.sarahgarvey.blogspot.com

Angelique has been married for 4 years and has three babies, two of whom are in heaven. She experienced her first pregnancy and loss through early miscarriage and her second pregnancy ended in loss as well. Her daughter McCartney has been in the arms of the Lord since 3 days after her birth and would be 2 years old this year. Angelique is now a stay at home mom to Foster, who just celebrated his 1st birthday and is a wardrobe stylist for Stitch Fix. She loves cooking, listening to books online, and is a huge fan of all things Cubs, Longhorns, and Spurs!  For more about Angelique’s journey, follow her at www.findinghimthroughher.blogspot.com