Today, I attended day 1 of the Still Birth Conference, Coming Together to Share Stories organized by Still Life Canada.   Tears were shed and stories were told in an atmosphere of compassion and understanding.  This clearly was a safe place to speak the names of our precious babies who had gone-too-soon.   

It was amazing to hear Dr. Joanne Cacciatore speak about her work with bereaved families and the research she has conducted done in honour of her stillborn daughter Cheyenne.  Health care professionals who came to participate in the conference displayed a willingness to listen and learn from bereaved families.   The team of doctors, nurses, social workers and policy makers all seemed motivated to facilitate positive changes in the hospitals to help buffer the trauma of infant loss which was encouraging.    

A big part of Elizabeth Ministry is to listen to the stories of others and to also share our own.  Peer support can be a simple, yet powerful way to facilitate healing in many ways.  Knowing that you are not alone, that there are others who are on a similar journey can bring a lot of comfort.  I’m grateful that Still Life Canada organized this event. 

So where do we go from here?  I look forward to day 2 of the Coming Together to Share Stories conference and the action plan that comes of this gathering.  Kudos to the volunteers who made this conference happen.