Expressing the Unseen: Using Art to Heal After Pregnancy Loss

When Pittsburgh author and art therapist Hayley Wilds experienced her first miscarriage in 2017, she had no idea the challenging road that lay ahead. The silence and stigma she encountered made an already painful grieving process that much more difficult. Her recently released book, Creative Healing for Pregnancy Loss, endeavors to break that silence and give loss parents a sacred space for grieving. Creative Healing for Pregnancy Loss features research-backed information, creative prompts, therapeutic exercises, grief rituals, and validation from an art therapist with lived experience.

In honor of October’s designation as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, Wilds will present a free online workshop “Expressing the Unseen: Using Art to Heal After Pregnancy Loss” on Thursday, October 17th from 12 noon to 1pm. The workshop will present creative tools to help parents through the grieving process and begin to heal.

Wilds wants other loss parents to know they aren’t alone. She explains, “Pregnancy loss is more common than people realize. But no one talks about it, and that makes it hard to process what you’re going through.”

According to recent data, 1 in 4 pregnancies ends in miscarriage, and 1 in 100 ends in stillbirth. With numbers like these, one might assume access to support is easy. But, as Wilds discovered throughout her journey, that is not the case. She hopes this workshop and her book will give pregnancy loss survivors much-needed resource as they navigate their unique grief experience.

To register for the free online workshop on October 17th, or for more information, please visit https://hayleywilds.com/pregnancylossworkshop/

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About the Presenter

Hayley Wilds is an art therapist, certified grief professional, and loss mom devoted to breaking the silence around pregnancy loss and supporting others in their grief. She is the owner and lead clinician at the Center for Creative Counseling in Pittsburgh, PA, where she specializes in therapy for moms, pregnancy loss, and grief work.