How To Cope With Pregnancy Loss When Everyone Else Is Getting Pregnant
Scrolling through social media or hearing another pregnancy announcement can bring a mix of emotions, especially if you’ve recently experienced a loss. These announcements can unintentionally feel like reminders of your loss. However, it’s important to recognize and validate your feelings. Whether it’s sadness, envy, frustration, or even guilt for not feeling happier for others, the emotions you’re experiencing deserve attention and care.
Dealing With Pregnancy Loss & Pregnancy Announcements At The Same Time
You can support loved ones while navigating your feelings, and the key is to acknowledge your emotions while building a mental framework to handle these situations with compassion for others and yourself. Here are steps you can take:
1. Validate Your Feelings
The first step is to acknowledge and accept your emotions without judgment. It’s okay to feel sad, frustrated, or even envious. Don’t push those feelings away or criticize yourself for having them. Everyone processes things differently, and ignoring your emotions can lead to resentment.
Instead of thinking, "I shouldn’t feel this way," try replacing it with, "It’s okay that I feel this way—this is hard." Journaling or talking with a trusted friend or therapist about how you feel can make a huge difference in your path towards healing.
2. Set Healthy Boundaries
If seeing pregnancy announcements on social media feels overwhelming, mute notifications or stories from people sharing frequent pregnancy updates. If you’re somewhere where people are discussing parenthood, politely excuse yourself from the conversation. If you feel that baby showers or gender reveals are too triggering, it’s okay to decline these invitations.
Politely excuse yourself from in-depth discussions about parenthood. Boundaries are not about shutting out people you care about, but about creating space for your well-being.
3. Focus On Your Own Path
Sometimes the hardest part about seeing pregnancy announcements and updates is feeling like your own life isn’t where you want it to be. It’s easy to feel like you’re getting left behind or wondering what you did wrong to experience this grief. Combat these feelings by focusing on what fulfills you in the here and now. Some things you can do for yourself are:
Set milestones for goals unrelated to parenthood such as travel destinations, new hobbies, workout goals, etc.
Journaling is a great way to process emotions, thoughts, and the feeling grief is having on you.
Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to a fulfilling life.
4. Build A Support Network
Navigating heavy grief can feel isolating, especially if you’re handling them alone. Connecting with others in similar situations, or finding a trusted group of friends to lean on can really help you get through the good and bad times. You’re not alone, and you don’t have to face this by yourself. You can find your community through groups pregnancy loss groups:
Take the course on Healing after TFMR
Give Yourself Time To Grieve
Dealing with pregnancy announcements after a loss is a deeply personal process. Give yourself the time to grieve and find little things that can make you happy each day. If you’d like personalized support, Dr. Erica Rozmid specializes in counseling for pregnancy loss and is here to listen and help you through your grief. Contact her to book an appointment.
