Pregnancy Loss Grief Circles

Updated: Sep 16

Healing In Community

Pregnancy and infant loss is a deeply isolating experience, often leaving parents to navigate a world that doesn’t fully understand their grief. Our Pregnancy & Infant Loss Grief Circles were created to offer a unique healing opportunity—a space to honor grief and hold each other in community with others who may be on a similar path. These gatherings provide a compassionate environment where participants can process their grief, share their stories, and find solace through community support.

The Importance of Grief Rituals

Grief rituals are a core part of our circles. In modern society, we often don’t have the cultural framework for honoring grief in a meaningful way. Our gatherings aim to reclaim that space, offering intentional moments to remember your baby and process your grief through ritual. Whether through lighting candles, sharing memories, or engaging in meditation, these rituals provide a tangible way to acknowledge your loss and honor your healing journey.

Why These Circles Were Created

This group is about honoring your grief while also creating space for healing, reflection, and community. We understand that healing doesn’t happen in isolation; it’s through shared experiences and holding space for one another that we can truly begin to heal.

Traditional support groups (huge thanks to Brief Encounters) are invaluable in the early stages of grief, offering a lifeline when loss is still raw. However, many parents eventually find themselves wondering how to continue living after the immediate shock fades. Our circles aim to bridge this gap, focusing not just on the early months but on what comes next—integrating grief into everyday life, finding new ways to connect with your identity, and returning to a world that now feels different.

Healing in Community

There’s something profoundly powerful about grieving in the presence of others who understand your pain. Healing in community allows you to be seen, heard, and supported without judgment. Our circles are intentionally small and intimate, designed to foster deep connections. This is a safe space where participants can share openly, surrounded by others who have walked a similar path.

Each circle includes holistic healing practices such as guided meditation, small group discussions, and gratitude rituals. These activities not only help participants express their grief but also promote emotional, mental, and spiritual grounding, creating an opportunity to heal at a deeper level.

The Hosts: Who We Are

Our circles are facilitated by a team of compassionate doulas and grief coaches with lived experience of loss:

Alyson Day is a certified birth and bereavement doula, grief coach, and RTS Coordinator. After the loss of her son Solomon, Alyson dedicated herself to supporting families through pregnancy after loss and postpartum mental health challenges.
Alyssa Rose is a grief counselor, ritualist, and life transitions doula. She creates sacred spaces for remembrance, helping individuals integrate loss into their lives in meaningful ways.
Ashley Rose Salvitti is a full-spectrum doula and certified pregnancy and infant loss coach. Her personal journey through loss informs her empathetic, holistic care, as she supports families in navigating the emotional terrain of pregnancy and birth after loss.

Who These Circles Are For

These circles are for anyone who has carried a baby who has died, whether your loss was recent or years ago. This is an intimate event, designed for small groups to ensure a safe, supportive space for sharing and healing. The circle is open only to the person who carried the baby, offering them the opportunity to connect deeply with others on a similar path.

Our circles are not closed groups, meaning participants can join any session without a long-term commitment. We encourage you to attend all the sessions if you can, but it’s also perfectly fine to come to any individual gathering that speaks to where you are in your healing journey.

Monthly Themes

Each circle centers around a specific theme, offering a chance to explore different aspects of life after loss. Some of the upcoming themes include:

9/19: Identity and Self-Definition
10/17: Navigating Social Interactions and Returning to Daily Life
11/21: Relationship Dynamics and Support Systems
12/19: Self-Care and Grief Rituals

Join Us

Our Pregnancy & Infant Loss Grief Circles take place on the 3rd Thursday of each month from 6:30 – 8:30 PM at The Flanders House Healing Center in

Portland. Registration is available via Eventbrite with a suggested donation of $10-30. However, we don’t want the suggested donation to be a barrier—if you don’t have the financial means, that’s completely okay.

If you or someone you know could benefit from this nurturing, supportive space, we invite you to join us. Please feel free to share this information with anyone who may be interested.

Healing in community is powerful, and we hope these circles provide the support and connection you need to walk your path after loss.