Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support
When a family experiences pregnancy or infant loss, our compassionate team helps them through the difficult journey that follows.
When the joy of pregnancy turns to the unimaginable experience of miscarriage or infant loss, couples often don’t know what to do next. Virtua’s Perinatal Bereavement and Palliative Care team supports parents through their grief and helps them honor their child’s life.
Our Approach to Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support
A parent can never be prepared for the loss of their child and the indescribable heartache that follows. While everyone copes in their own personal ways, we ensure that they don’t have to face the pain alone.
Virtua’s Perinatal Bereavement and Palliative Care team meets parents wherever they are on that difficult journey. We have caring, compassionate experts who meet with parents immediately in the hospital, providing personalized bedside care and support.
What To Expect if You Have Experienced Pregnancy or Infant Loss
We provide ways for parents to honor their child with dignity and grace and remember their meaningful life. This includes:
- Taking photos
- Making ink footprints or foot molds in plaster
- Dressing the child in an angel gown
- Providing handmade blankets and hats
- Helping parents bathe, dress, and swaddle their child
- Providing keepsakes like a memory box or HOPING bear
LifeCare for Little Ones
With LifeCare for Little Ones, Virtua’s palliative care team supports parents whose baby is given a ‘life-limiting’ diagnosis during pregnancy.
Doctors, nurses, chaplains, and social workers help parents develop a specialized care plan that honors their wishes. This team can:
- Offer support during pregnancy and delivery
- Enable parents to have ample time with their baby after birth
- Provide medical interventions to keep the baby comfortable
- Assist with baptism, blessings, or other spiritual ceremonies
- Help collect keepsakes like a lock of hair or photos
Support for All Parents Who’ve Experienced a Loss
Virtua provides resources and support for anyone in South Jersey who has experienced pregnancy or infant loss.
We connect parents with the HOPING/Unite grief support group and offer follow-up support with phone calls and assistance with specialized resources.
The Virtua Difference for Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support
Award-winning, compassionate care
NICU nurse Ann Coyle officially started the Perinatal Bereavement and Palliative Care program in 2015. Ann has been recognized by Johnson & Johnson and Independence Blue Cross for the outstanding and exemplary nursing care she provides for parents who have experienced a loss.
Award-winning, compassionate care
NICU nurse Ann Coyle officially started the Perinatal Bereavement and Palliative Care program in 2015. Ann has been recognized by Johnson & Johnson and Independence Blue Cross for the outstanding and exemplary nursing care she provides for parents who have experienced a loss.
A unique program to help heal broken hearts
The Perinatal Bereavement and Palliative Care program is one of the few comprehensive perinatal grief support programs in South Jersey. The program is available for any family who has experienced pregnancy or infant loss. Staff receives training on the emotional impact of loss and how to help and talk with bereaved parents.
A unique program to help heal broken hearts
The Perinatal Bereavement and Palliative Care program is one of the few comprehensive perinatal grief support programs in South Jersey. The program is available for any family who has experienced pregnancy or infant loss. Staff receives training on the emotional impact of loss and how to help and talk with bereaved parents.
Evolving care, informed by parents
Three times a year, parents who have experienced pregnancy or infant loss assemble as an advisory group for the program. These parents share ideas for improving care and support for other parents experiencing loss.
Evolving care, informed by parents
Three times a year, parents who have experienced pregnancy or infant loss assemble as an advisory group for the program. These parents share ideas for improving care and support for other parents experiencing loss.
A memorial for hope and healing
The Angel Garden at Virtua Voorhees hospital is a peaceful outdoor sanctuary for parents who have lost an infant or pregnancy. It’s a unique and meaningful place to honor the life of an angel baby with a plaque that’s personalized with the child’s name. In addition to the plaques, the garden features a water wall, trees, flowers, seating, and a special angel statue that overlooks the garden. Once a year, we hold a memorial service in the Angel Garden, where parents release butterflies in their child’s memory.
A memorial for hope and healing
The Angel Garden at Virtua Voorhees hospital is a peaceful outdoor sanctuary for parents who have lost an infant or pregnancy. It’s a unique and meaningful place to honor the life of an angel baby with a plaque that’s personalized with the child’s name. In addition to the plaques, the garden features a water wall, trees, flowers, seating, and a special angel statue that overlooks the garden. Once a year, we hold a memorial service in the Angel Garden, where parents release butterflies in their child’s memory.
Get Help and Support for Pregnancy and Infant Loss
Call 888-847-8823 to connect with our team today.
Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support Quick Links
How can we help you?
Join the HOPING/Unite Grief Support Group
The nurse-led support group provides parent-to-parent emotional and grief support for parents who have lost a child or pregnancy.
Join “Run With the Docs” to Support the Program
Run with the Docs is an annual 5K/1-mile race that benefits the Perinatal Bereavement and Palliative Care program. Funds raised from this event have provided financial assistance to ease burial or funeral costs for families, purchased grief books for parents and kids, helped families purchase a memorial plaque in the Angel Garden, and more.