Amplifying Support: Caring for Families After Pregnancy Loss and Proactively Addressing Prevention
Approximately 1/4 pregnant people will experience pregnancy loss and 1/170 pregnancies on average each year end in stillbirth. The stillbirth rate in the US has been stagnant for some time and this is in part due to a lack of efforts at stillbirth prevention due to the fatalistic belief that stillbirth cannot be prevented. A 2018 ACOG article, “Potentially Preventable Stillbirth in a Diverse US Cohort” found that 25% of all stillbirths and 47% at term may be potentially preventable. Black parents are 2-3 times more likely to experience stillbirth than other races. This a health disparity that must be addressed.
Currently, there is no formal teaching for residents, CNM, or medical students about the care of loss families. Doulas are on the front line of emotional care for our patients and some simple tips can help provide bereavement care for patients experiencing pregnancy loss. In this presentation, Dr. Heather Florescue and Dr. Lindsey Wimmer will discuss stillbirth and its causes. They will explore ways that doulas can be at the frontline of prevention by educating their clients and encouraging advocacy when their clients believe that something is wrong and will discuss the care of loss families including ways to improve care and help with the grieving process.
Dr. Heather Florescue
MD, FACOG, Co-Presenter
Dr. Heather Florescue FACOG graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude from the University of Rochester in 2000 and the University of Rochester Medical School in 2004 and completed a residency there as well in 2008. During this time she won several awards for patient care, including being elected to the Gold Humanism Honor. She is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and became board-certified in January of 2010.
Her passion is stillbirth awareness, education prevention, and care of patients who have lost babies during pregnancy or neonatal period. She provides free teaching sessions with bereaved parents all over Rochester to groups of nurses, doulas, PAs medical students, and residents which includes loss parents discussing their experiences. Dr. Florescue has been on local radio and television shows discussing stillbirth awareness and prevention and believes that doulas are essential in spreading awareness of stillbirth, reducing the stigma sharing information to increase the prevention of these losses. She is the medical advisor for Star Legacy Foundation, Push for Empowered Pregnancy, and Count the Kicks. She was recently honored as “Physician of the Year” by the Western NY Perinatal Bereavement Network.
Dr. Lindsey Wimmer
DNP, CPNP, RN, PHN, Co-Presenter
Lindsey Wimmer DNP, RN, PHN, CPNP, CPLC, is the Founder and Executive Director of the Star Legacy Foundation. In this role, Dr. Wimmer coordinates research initiatives, manages education programs for health professionals and families, and oversees bereavement support programs. She is a co-investigator for the Study of Trends and Associated Risks for Stillbirth (STARS) and the Pregnancy Research Project. Star Legacy Foundation is the nation’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to stillbirth prevention and care, with more than twenty chapters from coast to coast. Dr. Wimmer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN, a Master of Science degree in pediatric nursing from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, CO, and a Doctorate in Nursing Practice from St. Catherine University. She is certified as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner with experience in emergency and primary care and has taught in associate and baccalaureate-level nursing programs. Dr. Wimmer is also certified in Perinatal Loss Care (CPLC) and frequently presents at conferences and workshops around the United States on perinatal loss prevention and bereavement care. She currently serves on the Minnesota Maternal Child Health Advisory Task Force, the Minnesota Perinatal Quality Collaborative, and the International Stillbirth Alliance Advocacy Working Group. Her previous appointments include the Child Death Review Advisory Committee and as a Stillbirth Editor for the British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Lindsey has been recognized for her work with the Daisy Award, the Marian Sokol Award for Advancement in Stillbirth, the Butterfly Awards, the 2020 L’Oreal Women of Worth, and the Point of Light Award.
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