As an important part of our Maternal Death resources and support, below are biblical accounts of maternal death, for meditation. 

We also have a full devotional section specific to pregnancy and infant loss support that may be helpful.

Unexpected Situations in Birth

Genesis 38: 27-30

What was this labor like for the mother?

When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist and said, “This one came out first.” But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out, and she said, “So this is how you have broken out!” And he was named Perez.  Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist, came out. And he was named Zerah.

Related: Blessingway

Maternal Death

1 Samuel 4:19-22

A widowed and bereaved pregnant mother

Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near her time of delivery. When she heard that the Ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth. She died in childbirth, but before she passed away the midwives tried to encourage her. “Don’t be afraid,” they said. “You have a baby boy!” But she did not answer or pay attention to them.

She named the child Ichabod (which means “Where is the glory?”), for she said, “Israel’s glory is gone.” She named him this because the Ark of God had been captured and because her father-in-law and husband were dead. Then she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured.”

Thank you, for your interest in the SBD doula training.

Once your payment is received, you are considered registered for our training, and you have certain rights and responsibilities once your registration is complete.

Stillbirthday provides the most comprehensive birth and bereavement support training in the world.  As a registered student, it is so very important for you to begin the SBD mindset, even now.    As such, when you become a registered student, you are also registered as a stillbirthday Provider Care mentee with the right to receive SBD Student Support.  This means, that at any time, our Doula Advisory Team agrees to avail themselves to you as best as we are able, in online confidential counsel and mentoring.  This mentoring may be initiated by you at any time you feel you need it, and can be as simple as asking a one-time question, to more intensive support including weeks of private coaching.

Should there be a suspected issue of conduct that could potentially interfere with your quality of supportive services to families, this mentoring may also be initiated by our team, and may suspend or replace your training.  The stillbirthday birth and bereavement training is at times emotionally challenging.  It is not uncommon for a student to desire a small break or an extension of their session as the course content invites them to explore their own emotional healing.   Training simply resumes once the student and the team agree to move forward with it.

If it is determined that our mentoring was unsuccessful at resolving an issue, recommendations for more intensive support, including counseling, may be made, and may need to be fulfilled before resuming the training, per the discretion of the SBD Doula Advisory Team.  Many of the SBD students are bereaved parents themselves, and we at stillbirthday understand that grief can bring with it enormous challenges, which we may not always respond to as well as we might otherwise.  If you are an SBD student or are considering our training and you know that your journey has included situations that may appear controversial or potentially damaging to your professional character, we ask that you consider sharing these things with us.  We do not offer financial refunds to registered students, because your financial commitment to your doula training is immediately reinvested into the work of stillbirthday, and because, quite simply, this serves as a measure of protection to limit the number of prospective enrollees whose objectives may be compromised; we each as Doula Advisory Team members voluntarily bring our years of experiences to our roles here, and as such, we understand that the temptation for you to quit, stop even before you start, or drop out, are all opportunities for something much bigger – your own growth, and our growth, together as a team.  Rich healing can come through transparency, as painful as it might be.  Re-taking the training is also a possibility, as outlined in the materials.

We care about every family we serve, and this includes you.

We want to see you grow and develop professionally, and we know that this will only happen if you grow and develop emotionally.

In word and action, maintaining a personal code of conduct is important.  After you complete our training, you will read and sign our Principles of Service.  All doulas listed at stillbirthday have read and agreed to them as condition to being listed here.  Additionally, certified SBD doulas can utilize professional mentoring through the course of their career.  Because the decision to support families giving birth in any trimester is an important one, the SBD Doula Advisory Team agrees to provide these services to you even now, as a registered student.

Also important to know at this stage, is that any fraudulent or misrepresentations of your background, character or service are taken seriously.  Forgery, manufacturing altered or tampered letters of recommendation or certifications – ours or others – will be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  Every part of stillbirthday is proprietary and copyright protected, including your certification.  This protects the students who work so very hard to serve the families of their communities.

While the aforementioned issues pertain to suspected areas or issues that may be alluded to in our learning time together, there certainly can be individuals for whom our training just isn’t best for.  Please read our published Frequently Asked Questions for more.  We take our investment of time and energy toward those who desire to grow and learn seriously, and those who show a clearly demonstrated hostile, volatile, belligerent, socially aggressive or otherwise harmful presence toward their fellow classmates may simply not qualify for completing the training session and by such deliberate action forfeit their placement in the program.

All considerations of student mentoring, transferring, or dropping of a class is at the sole discretion of the founder of stillbirthday, who strives to personally ensure that every representative of stillbirthday represents the founding principles and exhibits a demonstrated and consistent understanding of and desire to continue to pursue serving others with our objectives and principles of service.  It is important for you to know that you are always invited to connect directly with Heidi Faith at any time with any questions or concerns you may have.

The search for uninhibited validation is often a fundamental and pervasive quest of the bereaved.   This struggle is found as a  feeling that others are defending ideas or principles or ideologies, rather than simply coming alongside and just flat defending the person.  As such, student confidentiality is maintained to the highest possible standard, including by those individuals for whom stillbirthday is not the best fit.   It’s an unfortunate truth that not only will stillbirthday not be the best match for an individual, but that the individual may not have the self-permission and the self-discipline to simply accept that maturely. I don’t want to fuel that by defending a place that is already upright and insodoing, jeopardizing the fleeting moment I may have had with someone by engaging in a toxic banter with them.  Every person has a right to opinion and feelings.

Thank you, so much, for considering registering for our training.  If you have any questions, you can comment below or email me privately at Heidi.Faith@stillbirthday.info.  Once your payment is received and you are considered a registered student, you will also receive our welcome letter, which will reiterate our commitment to serving you.  The most important lesson we hope to impart to you as a prospective SBD student, is that we here at stillbirthday care very much about you.

Warmly,

Heidi Faith, SBD Founder

You can click below to

Return to the SBD Registration Page.

Understanding how the Welcoming can quickly move into the Farewell, it is important to know as many of the Farewell options as possible, and as soon as possible, so that whenever appropriate and necessary, your time of Welcoming will reflect what you anticipate to happen next.

Related: During Birth SBD Resources

One such example is information regarding the placenta – because you can incorporate the placenta into the Farewell.

Here are a few placenta options:

• artwork – you or your stillbirthday doula can make placenta prints during the Welcoming, which can be a beautiful and unique keepsake.
•  jewelry – please see Beyond the Willow Tree for more
• planting or burying – whether you resonate more with the idea of planting or of burying your baby’s placenta, this can be such a meaningful and precious act of Farewell.

Your SBD doula can share with you more about any of these options.  Having a Hospital Liability Release form can also help.

We absolutely love partnering with organizations who serve with integrity and who bring creativity, resourcefulness and skill into such precious moments.  Beyond the Willow Tree is a trusted organization who creates keepsakes from breastmilk, umbilical cord, placenta, and/or a tiny snip of baby’s hair.

As a sort of rider to birth plans in early pregnancy, it is important to set apart and articulate aspects of your experience as they pertain to emergency room birth.

If you are experiencing an impending miscarriage and arrive at the hospital emergency room, you might:

• Inform the hospital staff of a possibly impending miscarriage.
• Know that in most instances, life preserving or death delaying care might not be possible.  Furthermore, the hospital staff may seem to delay your care, by necessity of caring for other patients who might have a greater likelihood of the successful outcome of implementing death delaying or life preserving care.
• Have as many of your own tangible resources should the birth of your baby occur while using the waiting room bathroom or while waiting in an emergency room screened room.  This can include items from the early pregnancy home birth plan, including your own strainer.
• Ensure that the bathroom you are using has deactivated any auto-flush system or that you have a strainer or other screen each and every time you use the bathroom.
• Have any tangible documentation or information about your obstetrical history.   While an emergency room ultrasound may give some information, it is best to compare it to your full obstetrical history for the most information.

If you are a member of the emergency room care team, you might:

• Have medical grade miscarriage strainer or speci-pan for toilet use.
• Check hCG and/or progesterone levels of the patient.
• Have a working knowledge or listing of state laws regarding birth and death certificates.
• Provide the patient with all options for the physical form of her baby, including returning the specimen to her either before or after any medical testing.
• If the patient is or believes to be at approximately 16 gestation weeks or older, utilize our lactation awareness and support pages.
• Contact a local SBD Doula for support.