Hugs for Healing Hearts: Helping Families Cope with Loss

After 15 years of marriage, South Hills residents Susan and Stephen Henault found themselves unexpectedly expecting. The couple had tried repeatedly to become pregnant over the years, without success. They didn’t think pregnancy was possible in their case. So when Susan discovered that she was pregnant, the couple was absolutely amazed.

Feeling blessed, Susan and Stephen began referring to the impending bundle of joy as their “miracle baby.” But just as unexpectedly as their miracle baby was given to them, it was taken away.

Stephen Isaac Henault was born stillborn on Aug. 6, 2010, with an official date of death the next day.

Though unlikely in the first place, Susan’s pregnancy was unaccompanied by any complications. Her son’s heart was beating strong and alive at her last prenatal visit. When she went into labor that same day, she and Stephen went to the hospital expecting to deliver a healthy baby boy.

They had no idea that something had gone terribly wrong.

The Henaults’ story is unique, but it is not uncommon. Infant and pregnancy loss are unfortunate tragedies suffered worldwide. As per loss in the United States, the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development reports that nearly 15 percent of known pregnancies result in miscarriages, and approximately one in 200 pregnancies results in stillbirth.

These statistics are attached to real people, some of whom reside and/or receive medical treatment right here in Upper St. Clair. Luckily, there is a local resource to which they can turn for help coping with their losses.

Hugs for Healing Hearts (HHH) is an infant and pregnancy loss support service that runs out of . On Saturday evening, it held its fourth annual at . The walk was open to the public, not just to those the HHH actively serves.

Despite unfriendly wind conditions, upwards of 80 people showed up to participate in the walk, which began at the Community and Recreation Center and ended at the pavilion, where a candlelight vigil and reception was held.

Grieving parents were joined by friends and other family members, including the grandparents and siblings of the babies who died. At least three dozen babies were remembered during the event.

HHH Pregnancy Loss Support Services Coordinator Debra Carse told us that this year’s walk was held on Saturday evening for a very specific reason. October 15, she said, is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day.

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day gained recognition on the federal calendar by a House Resolution in 2006, 18 years after President Regan declared October National Pregnancy Loss Awareness Month.

The candlelight vigil at the end of the walk was part of the international Wave of Light movement, whereby people across the world dedicated themselves to lighting candles at 7 p.m. on Saturday and keeping them lit for one hour in remembrance of an infant who died. The desired effect of this movement was to create a wave of light that surged across the Earth to the pulse of different time zones.

Carse said that HHH holds other annual events in addition to its annual walk, such as a holiday memorial service. The heart and soul of HHH, however, is its monthly support group meetings, of which there are two.

The Pregnancy Loss Support Group meets on the first Monday of every month, and the Subsequent Pregnancy After a Loss Support Group meets on the third Monday. Meetings take place at St. Clair Hospital from 7 to 8 p.m., and are completely free of charge. Free parking and refreshments are some of the group perks.

A registered nurse and a licensed social worker are on hand at the meetings, just in case someone needs them.

According to Carse, HHH’s groups are open to anyone touched by a miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal death, regardless of whether or not that person was or is a patient of St. Clair Hospital and regardless of when the death occurred.

What’s more, the meetings are not just for women. They’re also for men. Susan Henault said that Stephen is just as invested in the group as she is—in fact, he even went to a meeting without her when she was unable to attend.

For more information about Hugs for Healing Hearts and the services it provides, check out the St. Clair Hospital website or call 412.942.5882.