Miscarriage & Infant Loss Support
Compassionate Care and Support - Guiding You Through Healing and Recovery
What is a miscarriage doula?
A miscarriage doula is a caregiver that provides emotional, mental, physical and spiritual support to mothers and families during and after an infant loss of any gestation.
Our mission is to ensure that parents feel supported and are not alone after experiencing miscarriage, stillbirth or a terminal diagnosis.
A lot of people aren’t aware that miscarriage or bereavement doulas can be useful for navigating pregnancy loss. Here are some ways that partners experiencing loss can benefit from working with a bereavement doula:
Having a safe place to receive information without having to Google/land on triggering websites
Feeling less alone and validated through loss
Finding private support and group support to receive support on an ongoing basis
Having a sense of community
Understanding what comes next and navigating life after loss
My story about how I came to do this work…
I had been a birth & postpartum doula and childbirth educator for over 12 years before becoming a bereavement doula. Having taught Prenatal Yoga for 8 years, I often met many new mothers each month—some were my clients, some were not. One mother joined my class at 8 weeks pregnant and continued to come weekly.
At 20 weeks, she called me with devastating news from their anatomy scan: the baby was incompatible with life outside of the womb. She and her husband had a few options, none of which involved bringing their sweet baby home after birth.
While still pregnant, she contacted me, hoping to find ways for her and her husband to honor their baby girl before the procedure, to make the time as sacred as possible, to be prepared for what was to come, and to know what to expect following the birth.
I was greatly honored that they let me into their lives during such an intimate, vulnerable, and heartbreaking time. Their openness showed me a window into the possibility of tending to parents in a way that helps them and makes their journey more supported and sacred.
Over my years of birth work, I’ve had friends, clients, and family members experience miscarriage and infant loss, but this was the first time I was let in this way.
I’ve always had a connection or interest in death. Like birth, it is a transition, full of endings and beginnings. It wasn’t until now, in 2024, that I felt the call to expand my work into miscarriage, bereavement, and infant loss support.
They named their baby girl Poppy.
I believe that Poppy led us all to each other. I believe she sent her mother to me so her mother could be cared for in this way. I believe that Poppy’s presence made the needed impression on me so I could turn around and help many others suffering from the heavy grief, confusion, and lack of support in early birth and infant loss. I believe that this powerful soul lives on through my work as a bereavement doula and in many other ways. This powerful soul touched me, my work, and therefore others to come in a very profound way.
This support is the missing link in our modern society and healthcare systems. We will walk through the journey together. We will help you properly process, grieve, learn, and prepare together. We will build the bridge between the medical system and the human experience of this.
What does this support look like?
Processing grief surrounding pregnancy loss or stillbirth
Preparing for an early birth at a medical facility
Processing spontaneously going into labor & birthing at home
Support for infant/pregnancy loss in 1st, 2nd or 3rd trimesters
Preparing to becoming pregnant again
Being pregnant after loss
Preparing to give birth again after experiencing previous pregnancy or infant loss
How It Works
Let’s connect and see if we would be a good fit in working further with each other. These Zoom calls are always free and are usually between 30-60 minutes long. Email me here to book an exploratory call.
This support system is offered as virtual or in person if you are in the Truckee/Tahoe area. Marissa typically offers packages in 6-12 week containers, sessions are 90 minutes long and every other week. You will always receive ongoing communication support via text and email throughout the container of working together.
Investment
Miscarriage Doula Support is offered at a sliding scale rate to meet the comforts of your families financial needs. The sliding scale will be based off of how many weeks and sessions you and Marissa choose to set.
Typically, each session is $60 - $250.
About Your Support Person
Marissa has been working with and supporting parents through the waves of ups, downs and the many in betweens through birth work for the past 12 years. She is an active birth doula, postpartum doula, prenatal yoga instructor, miscarriage doula and about to become a somatic coach. She is an experienced space holder, confidant, healer and mentor. She helps carry people through their unique journeys, a lot of which hold grief and trauma.
Her mission in life is to help people grow and evolve through the realms of pregnancy, birth and postpartum. She has countless hours of study, experience and trainings under her belt from Birth Story Listening with Birthing From Within to Spinning Babies, Ayurvedic Postpartum Doula training with Sacred Windows Studies to Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga training with Jane Austin in San Francisco. Marissa does an excellent job at helping people grow and evolve while helping them feel loved, empowered, educated and prepared.
Have questions?
just fill out the form here and we can schedule a free exploratory call to see if miscarriage support is the right thing for you.