10 Books for the Postpartum and Bereaved

I wrote this book because there is nothing out there like it. It recognizes that we, too, are postpartum after pregnancy and infant loss and deserve care that is sensitive to our needs as both postpartum and bereaved. It acknowledges the tender intersection of postpartum care, grief, and trauma that so many of us navigate after experiencing such loss within and with our bodies. I hope it can help others feel what I would have wanted for myself which is to feel seen, held, and honored.

After experiencing two pregnancy losses, it was hard for me to read memoirs about the topic. My grief and trauma felt like enough to carry. And yet his poignant collection of short stories - all by women of color - felt like balm to my soul. It is a book I regularly recommend to other survivors of pregnancy and infant loss and those who support them.

For a topic as heavy as pregnancy loss, this book is a welcome reprieve. Inside you will find a warm and engaging conversation between a survivor of pregnancy loss, a licensed social worker, and a board-certified psychologist. Their voices, stories, insight, and practical tips flow well together and one can’t help but feel drawn in and less alone.

I have found it helpful to read books about grief that are not necessarily specific to pregnancy and infant loss. This is one such book and a powerful one as it explores the intersection of grief and social justice.

When I learn that a loved one has experienced pregnancy or infant loss, this is a book I feel safe gifting. It is hardcover, beautifully designed, gentle in tone, and rich with rituals for grieving and healing. It carries with it the essence of someone who has known the deep pain of infant loss.

Being pregnant after experiencing pregnancy or infant loss is a unique experience and one that deserves nuanced attention and care. This book does just that.

For those who are looking for a more interactive experience, this grief journal (written by the author of famed grief book It’s Ok That You’re Not Ok) may resonate with its many pages of invitations to write, fill in, and draw. I once saw a fellow perinatal loss survivor holding a copy. It was filled with her writings, drawings, and also photos. You could just feel all her grief and love vibrating from the pages.

For those who have experienced pregnancy and infant loss and also have living children, it is important to recognize that they are also grieving the loss and need support. Reading books about the topic can help. This children’s book is hauntingly poetic with beautiful illustrations that will draw in children and adults alike. I tear up every time I read the page that speaks directly to pregnancy and infant loss.

This beautifully illustrated book follows an older sister who is grieving the loss of her little sister she never got to meet and the loss of the life she had imagined for the two of them.

This lovely children’s book about an older sibling grieving a pregnancy loss is one I gift to grieving families often. And I love the term “star baby.”