ABSTRACT
This chapter explores face-to-face support groups, and discusses how infant loss and pregnancy after loss are similar but also uniquely different. Parents find they are not alone, a key therapeutic factor contributing to the potency of the group experience. The experiences of bereaved lesbian parents are more similar to those of heterosexual bereaved mothers than different. Psychological counseling has generally been found to be beneficial in reducing anxiety for women pregnant again following a miscarriage. It is found that parents pregnant after loss and their unborn babies benefit enormously from an educational support group when it is grounded in a theoretical framework that utilizes the continued bond and attachment theory. Facilitators are empathic listeners who guide and reflect parents' feelings while educating and intervening in crises. The strongest argument favoring a PAL group is that parents offer and receive understanding, information, and support in ways that care providers, family, or friends are unable to.
