Baby Loss Awareness: Why It Matters & How to Support Parents | Dr Kara Davey

Baby loss is one of the most painful and silenced experiences a parent can face. In this episode of The Aspiring Psychologist Podcast, Dr Marianne Trent is joined by Clinical Psychologist Dr Kara Davey to explore why baby loss awareness matters, what bereaved parents really need, and how we can offer support with compassion rather than silence.

Drawing on both professional expertise and her own lived experience, Dr Kara shares insights into the grief, isolation, and lifelong impact of losing a baby. We discuss how friends, colleagues, and health professionals can respond in ways that validate and comfort rather than avoid, and why including a baby’s name or memory can make such a difference.

Whether you are supporting clients, working in perinatal services, or want to feel more confident supporting a friend or colleague, this conversation brings understanding, humanity, and hope. #BabyLossAwareness

#PregnancyLossSupport

#GriefSupport

⏱️ Highlights & Timestamps:

• 00:00 – Introduction & trigger warning
• 01:04 – Why baby loss awareness matters
• 02:10 – The silence and isolation many parents experience
• 04:19 – What colleagues, friends, and employers often get wrong
• 06:39 – Staying human: why small messages of care mean so much
• 08:56 – The importance of advocating for your own needs after loss
• 10:41 – Including babies’ names in cards and continuing bonds
• 13:46 – Long-term grief: hearing stories even decades later
• 17:47 – First practical steps after a baby loss
• 20:30 – Caring for your body when you come home without your baby
• 22:30 – The role of bereavement midwives and memory-making
• 24:17 – Supporting parents in future pregnancies after loss
• 27:11 – “Rainbow babies”: hope and complexity of pregnancy after loss
• 30:24 – The loss of innocence and identity shifts after bereavement
• 33:43 – Rebuilding identity: the Japanese art of kintsugi as a metaphor
• 35:11 – Relationship impacts and relational trauma after baby loss
• 37:13 – Dr Kara’s children’s book There’s a Rainbow Baby in My Mummy’s Tummy
• 39:58 – Free monthly baby loss support groups and resources

Resources Mentioned:

1. There's a Rainbow Baby in my Mummy's Tummy: https://amzn.to/4gMxtKv
2. Kara's Free Resources: https://www.karaclinicalpsychologistinsussex.co.uk/resources/
3. The Grief Collective: https://amzn.to/4gPqnoy

Links:

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