Whether your loss is due to miscarriage, termination, stillbirth, infant death, or adoption, Our Babies, Our Grief welcomes you to make our support part of your grief journey. Join us for our 6-week progressive healing group and our virtual monthly open drop-ins.

About Our Babies, Our Grief

Founded in the practice of self-care and acceptance, Our Babies, Our Grief provides an opportunity for participants to tap into their wisdom, learn from each other, and explore their grief in a welcoming and supportive environment.

Following the companioning model of compassionate care, this program provides a unique and much-needed type of support regardless of where participants are in terms of their grieving. Participants will benefit from building a strong community network and the awareness that they do not have to grieve alone or in silence.

Together, we’ll learn helpful concepts to understand and talk about our grief, bust some grief myths, and acknowledge both our shared lived experiences and those that are unique to our individual circumstances.

This program is offered free of charge. Thanks to the generosity of donors and the commitment of our facilitators, we also provide all materials and refreshments at no cost to you. Find out how you can support the program here.

Why we meet:

To provide a safe, open, caring space where you can mourn your loss.

To assist you in the exploration of your grief, share experiences, and learn about compassionate grieving practices.

To gather together a supportive community to walk alongside and companion you in this journey.

To offer you some measure of comfort knowing you are not alone in your grief.

How Our Babies, Our Grief Can Help

Virtual monthly drop-in group

This group meets online once per month, and is open for anyone to join.

Registration not required, but please use the contact form to receive the drop-in link.

Get Drop-in Link

Virtual six-week progressive healing group

This group meets online once per week for six consecutive weeks.

Registration required.

In-person six-week progressive healing group

This group meets in-person once per week for six consecutive weeks.

Currently scheduled in Almonte, ON and Niagara Falls, ON.

Registration required.

Learn more / Register

1 in 4 pregnancies ends in loss

Meet our Facilitators

Our team is part of Home Hospice Association’s Infant & Pregnancy Loss Doula community and actively supports the Pre and Perinatal Hospice Program.

Carol Brulé, Ottawa

Carol has over 20 years of experience working in community health and epidemiology. For the past ten years, she has been pediatric palliative care, grief support and visiting home hospice volunteer working with children and youth with life-limiting illnesses and their families. Carole recently completed End-of-Life Doula training with Douglas College and is currently an HHA Infant and Pregnancy Loss Doula Candidate.

Glen Burkholder, GTA

Glen has been a funeral director since 1986. In February 2023, he joined the team of McKersie & Early Funeral Home in Milton, Ontario. Glen co-founded Home Hospice Association (HHA) in 2014. He is especially passionate about HHA’s continued education and training mission, and is deeply involved in the development of HHA’s Death Doula and Infant and Pregnancy Loss Doula certification programs.

Cari Ferguson, GTA

Cari is part of HHA's death education team and serves as the Candidate Advisor and a facilitator for both the Death Doula and Infant and Pregnancy Loss Doula training programs. Additionally, Cari is HHA's communication manager and facilitates both the General Death Café as well as the Caregivers Death Café. Cari is deeply passionate about death and grief education. She is the founder of Strong Winds Consulting, a professional bereavement service that provides insight, guidance, and companionship to those approaching their end of life as well as grief support to those in mourning.

Jen Gillean, Ottawa

Jen has always been curious about the connections between mental and physical health. She received her B.Ed in Physical Education with concentrations in Gender, Religious Studies, and Psychology at McGill University in Montreal, and in 2005 began training as a Yoga teacher. When she was 200 hours along in her Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) she was sexually assaulted, after which time she found that practicing yoga opened up possibilities and ways of feeling more connected to her body, mind and other relationships in her life. Following completion of her YTT, Jen taught in yoga studios, YMCAs, Health Clubs, and in schools for teachers, and eventually owned her own learning Centre, which she ran for 13 years. In 2015, she began her studies in Birth Story Medicine, and has continued to learn through the mentorship of others. As a Certified BFW Childbirth Mentor and a Full Spectrum Birth & Bereavement Doula, she is drawn to working with people going through challenging fertility- and birthing- related experiences, especially having to do with grief, trauma and/or persistent pelvic pain.

Gabrielle Lahaie, Ottawa

Gabrielle has always had a passion for community engagement, and being a part of Our Babies, Our Grief has allowed her to participate in her community in such a meaningfully way.

Gabrielle graduated from Brock University with a B.A. Hon and attended Humber College for their Funeral Service Education program. She has been active in the Death Care industry since 2019, helping families deal with loss and grief.

Julie-Anne Muano, Ontario North

During her training as an Infant & Pregnancy Loss Doula (IPLD) with Home Hospice Association (HHA), Julie-Anne was inspired to create an infant and pregnancy loss support group. This process opened the door for a lot of conversations about support – or rather the lack thereof – for parents grieving the loss of their babies, particularly in Northern Ontario where she lives. Her first client as an IPLD Candidate expressed a deep desire to connect with other parents who had experienced the same thing. Soon after that, she met with a local funeral director who expressed similar frustrations about the lack of support specifically for infant loss. Through all her research and conversations, it became increasingly clear how big the need for such support was, and with the help of HHA, Julie-Anne went on to co-develop the infant and pregnancy loss support services that became known as Our Babies, Our Grief.

Alexandra Palmer, GTA

Alexandra graduated from George Brown College with a specialist diploma in Human Services Counseling focusing on Mental Health. With over 25+ years of experience in social services, her work focuses on education, advocacy, and support. She hosts a death-positive podcast called Death Destigmatized on podbean, runs Community Death Meditations, and provides support for End-of-Life ritual design. She has spoken at The Symposium of Death and Dying, Lifting the Lid Symposium, and many smaller community events. Currently Alexandra is focusing on pregnancy and infant loss, completing her practicum for her Infant and Pregnancy Loss Doula (ILPD) designation as well as the Pathway for Labour and Delivery Doula (Completion 2023). She actively volunteers with Home Hospice Association, facilitating peer-led pregnancy and infant loss support groups.

Jen Thompson, Ottawa

Our Babies, Our Grief holds a special place in Jen's heart ever since she gave birth prematurely to 2 beautiful baby girls, Lydia Marie and Ella Ruth. Both of her babies died as a result of the premature birth, and she remembers desperately searching for support within her community and not being able to find anything. Our Babies, Our Grief was exactly what she needed back then to help her process her grief and begin to heal, which is why she is thrilled to be able to bring this kind of support to her community now.

5000 infants are stillborn each year in Canada

How you can help

Host an In-Person Group

If you’re an agency or a community outreach facility with members who have experienced infant and pregnancy loss, let’s work together to bring Our Babies, Our Grief to your community. Email info@homehospiceassociation.com to talk about partnership possibilities.

Make a donation

Your donations help us to support as many people as possible who have experienced life-changing loss. From providing our core programming to helping us cover material and refreshment costs, your donations make the difference. We’re so grateful for your support - if you can donate, please do!

Become an Our Babies, Our Grief Facilitator

The first step to becoming a program facilitator is to train in infant & pregnancy loss. Learn more about our Infant & Pregnancy Loss Doula training program.

Contribute to our Infant & Pregnancy Loss Doula Scholarship

The Our Babies, Our Grief program is run by those trained in infant & pregnancy loss. To ensure we have enough facilitators to offer this program where and when it’s most needed, we offer a scholarship for the training tuition. Learn more about the scholarship and how you can help.

Join our Moonlit Memory Walk

This is Home Hospice Association’s major annual fundraiser, providing the opportunity for people to openly mourn the loss of their loved ones, including the loss of an infant or pregnancy, and to experience the benefits of collective healing. The event also raises money to help ease the suffering of our dying and those who love them by supporting the programs and services offered by HHA. Learn more about this important event and how you can join.

support

Drop-in

Join us October 28th for our annual Moonlit Memory Walk fundraising event!