Finding Community After Pregnancy and Infant Loss

By Destree Thompson, for The West Side Newspaper 

Pregnancy and infant loss are more common than many people realize, yet they remain one of the least discussed forms of grief. For those who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal loss, termination for medical reasons, or other perinatal losses, the emotional impact can be profound and long-lasting. While support may be available in the days and weeks following a loss, many individuals find themselves navigating grief in isolation long after others have moved on. 

In response to this need, Doula Synergy offers Pregnancy & Infant Loss Grief Circles, providing a dedicated space where grief can be acknowledged, witnessed, and held in community. The Salem circle meets on the third Thursday of each month from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at The Enlighten Healing Collective in West Salem. 

The circles are open to anyone who has experienced perinatal loss, whether the loss occurred recently or many years ago. Designed specifically for the person who carried the pregnancy, the gatherings offer an opportunity to connect with others who share a similar lived experience. Through small-group discussion, reflection, guided meditation, and rituals that honor babies who have died, participants are invited into a compassionate and nonjudgmental space for healing and connection. 

The Salem Circle is facilitated by a team of trained doulas: Ashley Rose Salvitti, Samantha Wilson Trevino, Hailey Brice, and Morgan Dunn. Two facilitators lead each gathering, rotating throughout the year. Each facilitator has completed bereavement support training, and many bring personal experience with loss to their role. Rather than serving as therapists, they participate as peer facilitators, creating a welcoming environment where participants can share their stories, emotions, and memories without fear of judgment. 

The circles are sponsored by Compass Perinatal Family & Community Support, a nonprofit organization serving families throughout the Marion-Polk region through education, doula support, and perinatal mental health peer support programs. Their partnership helps ensure that local families have access to meaningful support during one of life's most difficult experiences. 

Pregnancy and infant loss can be profoundly isolating, particularly in a culture that often struggles to talk openly about grief. Creating space where people can share their experiences, have their grief witnessed, and connect with others who understand, is viewed as an important part of the healing process.

The mission of Doula Synergy is to advance the role of doulas in perinatal loss support by connecting families, doulas, and providers while increasing access to compassionate bereavement care. The monthly grief circles reflect that mission by offering support, education, and connection while helping families understand the valuable role doulas can play following loss. 

As The Enlighten Healing Collective continues building a community centered on healing, connection, and belonging, partnerships such as this help ensure that individuals facing some of life's most tender challenges have a place to turn for support.