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A Western Massachusetts Chapter of Share Pregnancy and Infant Loss, Inc

WELCOME TO EMPTY ARMS BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT, INC.

Empty Arms Bereavement Support is a Western Massachusetts-based non-profit organization offering resources and support to families across the region who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant loss. We are affiliated with the national organization Share. We have an established program in the Childbirth Center at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, where our organization began in 2007, and as our program has expanded CDH has continued to support us by hosting two of our monthly meetings as well as other special events. We also work with the birth centers at other local hospitals including Holyoke Medical Center, Baystate Franklin Medical Center, and Baystate Medical Center to provide resources for bereaved families.

If you are looking for support group meetings, we offer four different meetings each month. Please follow the links above for meeting times, locations and directions. We use this website and our Facebook page to keep participants updated about our meetings and other activities.

You don't have to attend a group to use our resources. Carol McMurrich, our founder and lead facilitator, is available for peer counseling and support. After speaking or e-mailing with you, Carol may be able to refer you to one of our telephone/e-mail support volunteers: somebody whose loss experience is very similar to your own. In this way, Empty Arms can offer peer support to those who may not yet feel comfortable with the larger support group setting.

We also have a lending library, an annual memorial walk, and occasional special events. On our "Links for Grieving Parents" page, we try to connect you to some resources we hope you will find helpful in the process of grieving your very difficult loss.

Parenting After Loss Group

The Parenting After Loss group is a new Empty Arms group intended for those who are parenting the older sibling(s) of a baby who has died, or who are parenting a subsequent child who has joined the family (through birth, foster care/adoption, or surrogacy) after a loss. Our first meeting will be on May 18, 2011.

We know that parenting living children while grieving our babies is both a blessing and a challenge. We believe that parents have space in their hearts and homes for both their living children and for the baby or babies who have died. Parenting after loss includes challenges such as addressing the grief and other emotions felt by siblings of a lost baby, and balancing the daily care of living children with needed time to grieve. We recognize that there is no one right way to address these challenges, and that each family has the right to grieve and remember their lost baby or babies in ways that feel most comfortable to them. This meeting is a place where parents can support one another in both the joys and difficulties of this experience.

The Parenting After Loss group meets in members' homes, usually on a weekend. The date and time varies slightly depending on the needs of the group. If you are interested in attending, please contact the group facilitator, Erika Parker, at ehenyey@gmail.com or 413-628-0082.  Erika would also be happy to answer any questions you have about the meeting.


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