Calgary volunteers create ‘bereavement boxes’ for parents dealing with pregnancy and infant loss

"Bereavement boxes" are being created for parents grieving pregnancy loss. The Calgary volunteer effort is getting a special touch from local BIPOC business owners.

Pregnancy and infant loss are traumatic experiences made worse when people don’t get the support they need.  And a local charity is now helping to recognize the unique challenges faced by members of the BIPOC community who are suffering the same losses.

When Aditi Loveridge was expecting for the first time 10 years ago, she never thought pregnancy loss would happen to her. She said the mental health impacts were profound.

“It impacted me drastically. It affected everything about me. I became very very anxious, very fearful,” Loveridge said.

“People don’t how to broach the topic, so they don’t say anything and it leaves bereaved families — myself included — feeling completely isolated and alone.”

Feeling like she didn’t fit in to some support groups compounded Loveridge’s struggle to heal, “when we as people who don’t fit that typical picture.”

“I know for me, when I was seeking help or was looking for support, I didn’t think those spaces really understood the complexity of the journey for me,” she said. “With different ethnic backgrounds, absolutely I think there’s a lot of different cultural components. Depending on what ethnicity one might belong to, it could be even more stigmatized and even less talked about and less supported in the communities.”

Loveridge is the founder of The Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support Centre (PILSC).

The group has created a first of its kind “bereavement box,” specially curated by local BIPOC business owners.