If you are reading this after the loss of your baby or babies, we offer our sincerest condolences. Losing a baby is traumatic at any stage, and you can often feel alone in your grief, particularly in the months following the loss when others around you go back to their lives as normal, but for you, life is anything but normal. Often, each member of the couple grieves in their own unique way, which can add to the isolation. You may have trouble going out in public for fear of seeing pregnant women or babies. These are all common reactions after losing a baby. You are not alone. There are peers and professionals who have experience in perinatal loss who can be of support in your healing.

It is our hope that you will find the support you need to help you through this loss. We realize that not all losses are the same; therefore, we have tried to offer specialized resources for particular losses. If you do not find what you are looking for, please call the Warmline at 619-254-0023 so we might be of further assistance. You can also click here to request a call or email from a Warmline volunteer.

Resources

General Loss Resources

Empty Cradle
Dedicated to providing support to families who have experienced the loss of a baby due to miscarriage, stillbirth, infant death or SIDS
New support group in conjunction with Elizabeth Hospice Center for Compassionate Care which meets the 4th Tuesday of each month at the Elizabeth Hospice Center in Poway. Call 619 595-3887 for details.

San Diego Hospice
Offers counseling services and a group for parents whose infants have died before, during, or shortly after birth. Call 619 278-6480 for more information

Hospice of the North Coast
Offers a child loss group. Call the HOPE Bereavement Center 760 431-4100 ex 103 for more information

Miss Foundation
On line support forums for families who have lost a child from any cause.

Compassionate Friends
On line support and resources for families who have lost a child at any age.

First Candle
On line support for families who have lost a child under a year old. 24 hotline staffed by grief counselors (800) 221-7437

Grief Net
Comprehensive grief resource site

Jenna Druck Foundation
Provides programs and services to support bereaved families

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep
Volunteer photographers to take pictures of your baby who has died or who is dying at the hospital.

Support of Fetal Trisomies (S.O.F.T.) 1 (800) 716-SOFT
Information and grief support offered by telephone throughout San Diego County

North County Support Group for Bereaved Parents

Meets ont he Second and Fourth Wednesdays of the month from 6:30pm-8:30pm in Carlsbad.  Call or email for more information. Phone: 760-420-9253; E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

SIDS Resources

Guild for Infant Survival
Local web site which provides information and support for families who have lost a baby to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Loss in a Multiple Birth

CLIMB (Center for Loss in Multiple Birth, Inc.)
For parents who have lost one or more of their twins, triplets or higher order multiples. This web site provides on line support as well as information and resources on how to write birth announcements, handle birthdays and anniversaries.

Loss in Multiple Birth Support Group:

Meets the 3rd Sunday of the month every other month (Jan.,Mar.,May, July, Sept., Nov.) from 1-3pm at the Sharp Outpatient Pavilion in San Diego which is adjacent to Mary Birch Hospital in room A on the first floor. Contact Yvonne Rothermel, LCSW (619) 218-9803 for more information.

Continuing the Pregnancy Despite a Poor Prenatal Diagnosis

San Diego Hospice Children's Program
Provides support throughout the remainder of the pregnancy and helps with birth planning and memory building.

Perinatal Hospice
Information on perinatal hospice and palliative care with information on birth planning.

Waiting with Love
For parents who chose to continue a pregnancy knowing their unborn baby will die before or shortly after birth and for families who learn their newborn will die.
Termination due to birth defects/lethal anomalies

A Heartbreaking Choice

On line support for families who have undergone a pregnancy termination due to a poor prenatal diagnosis or other cause.

Deciding to take an infant off life support

When Courage Lies in Letting go: Turning toward End of Life Palliative Care for Your Child. By Deborah Davis, Ph.d

Therapists who specialize in Infant Loss

Central San Diego

Yvonne Rothermel, LCSW
3551 Front Street
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 218-9803

North County Scripps Ranch

Michelle Hobby, Ph.D
9666 Business Park Ave #202
San Diego, CA 92131
(858) 414-2523

The Center for Reproductive Psychology
Offices in Scripps Ranch, Rancho Bernardo, and Mission Valley
Call (858) 576-3810 to schedule an appointment

Psychiatrists

Katie Hirst, MD
UCSD Maternal Mental Health Clinic
140 Arbor Drive
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 543-6932

Leslie Westlund Tam, MD
4060 4th Ave #445
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 994-7911