If you are having suicidal thoughts, 
please call your healthcare provider,
Dane County Suicide Crisis Line 608.280.2600, or
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1 (800)273-8255

Bereaved Parents of Madison, Inc. 
Support Services

Parents from our group are "On Call" and ready to assist families in any way possible. That might look different for each family, but some of there services that we can provide are:
  • A HUGS Volunteer can come down to the hospital immediately.
  • Talk about what is happening now and what they can expect when the baby is born. We are not medical experts, but we can share our own experiences and those we have learned from group. Sometimes, helping to ask the right questions can be very valuable. 
  • Help communicate with hospital staff the wishes of the family. 
  • Go through some of the materials that are provided by the hospital to identify some helpful pieces. 
  • Offer to talk by phone regularly to provide support after discharge from the hospital.  (As needed- weekly for the first two months, 2x/month through 6 months, and every month until a year.)
  • Meet with you in the community.
  • Online support via email, Facebook, Facetime/Skype.
  • Accompany you to the support group or other activity.
Please let us know if you have any questions!  Do not be afraid to ask!

Resources for Families

There are a wide variety of resources available.  Here are some that members of the group have found particularly useful.  We are always updating, so please check back or feel free to send suggestions to bereavedparentsofmadison@gmail.com
  • Faith's Lodge  "The mission of Faith’s Lodge is to provide a place where parents and families facing the serious illness or loss of a child can retreat to reflect on the past, renew strength for the present and build hope for the future."  Located in Danbury, WI
  • Grandparent's Support Group.  Meets second Tuesday of every month from 6:30-8:30pm at St Mary's in Bistro Room B. Please contact Maureen for more information/questions contact Maureen 608.798.4820 msberghoefer@tds.net                           Mary 608.770.6338 mj.sweeney11@gmail.com 
  • Madison Postpartum Collective Provides postpartum doula support, marriage and family therapy, breastfeeding support, and women's health.
  • Mikayla's Grace Provides angel memory boxes and NICU care packages to local hospitals. Hosts Forever In Our Hearts Walk in October.
  • Mother's Milk Alliance Inc Breast Milk Donations
  • Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep (NILMDTS) Volunteer photographers who capture remembrance photography.
  • Pregnancy After Loss Support Services ( Local Private Facebook)
  • Postpartum Progress Inc. Guidance and resource for understanding postpartum depression, anxiety, and OCD. 
  • Pregnancy Helpline Provides support and referrals to families before, during, or after pregnancy.
  • Rainbow Sisters Bereavement Doula Services
  • SHARE Is a national pregnancy and infant loss support network that provides services to the whole family unit.  
  • Still Standing Surviving Child Loss and Infertility (Online Magazine)
  • Take Them A Meal Set up a meal delivery schedule for a grieving family. Determine how often and when they will be delivered, then share the link and family and friends can sign up.

Hospital Contacts

Meriter Hospital Bereavement Team
  • Sara Babcock (Clinical Nurse Specialist)  608.417.5844
  • Barb Arnett (Social Worker)  608.417.5485
  • Pregnancy and Infant Loss Helpline 608.417.5690
St Mary's Hospital Bereavement Team
  • Kara & Jill (Care Management) 608.258.6561 
  • Pregnancy & Infant Loss Line 608.229.7141 

Mental Health Professionals

We can not make recommendations for therapists, but these are a few local practitioners that work with grief and loss. (Click on their name for more information.)

Reading List

We have a traveling library of books that is at the support group meeting on the 3rd Thursday of the month.  Here are just a few of the selections that you might find...

Chicken Soup for the Grieving Soul by Jack Canfield 
Empty Cradle A Full Heart by Christine O'Keeffe Lafser
Empty Cradle Broken Heart by Deborah Davis
An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by   Elizabeth McCracken
The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans
The Good Grief Club by Monica Novak
Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo
I Will Carry You by Angie Smith
Imperfect Spirituality: Extraordinary Enlightenment for Ordinary People by Polly Campbell
The Light Between Oceans by M L Stedman
Pregnancy After A Loss by Carol Cirulli Lanham
Sunshine After the Storm
Tear Soup by Pat Schwiebert, et al
They were Still Born by Janel C Atlas 
Waterbugs and Dragonflies by Doris Stickney 

We are always interested in what other parents have found to be helpful and healing.  Please let us know if there are books you think would be good additions to our list, or bring any books along that you would like to donate in memory of your little one <3