Every five minutes in Australia someone experiences a miscarriage. Until now, it’s been yet another women’s health area underfunded and under resourced. For nearly a decade The Pink Elephants Support Network has been providing support to those impacted and championing the needs of bereaved women and their partners.
Miscarriage has for too long been shrouded in silence and hidden away yet the evidence is clear women need access to support. Miscarriage and early pregnancy loss can be a traumatic event in a woman’s lifetime which if left unsupported can lead to poor mental health outcomes. At Pink Elephants, we see women feel like no one understands their pain and grief, we hear statements full of self blame. When we hide experiences they become surrounded in shame and stigma.
Through an investment of $4 million in early intervention peer support, the federal government has shown it understands that miscarriage is a traumatic event and recognises the importance of supporting women. This in turn reduces shame and stigma associated with early pregnancy loss and reduces barriers to access support services.
No one should walk the journey of pregnancy loss alone
In true female-led organisation style, this is a collaborative support package with three key charities coming together to deliver tailored support with an additional two organisations announced as recipients.
Pink Elephants will partner with the Stillbirth CRE and Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia (PANDA) to deliver evidence-based, specialised early intervention care and support to women and their families. Specific activities will include:
1. Development of a Digital Circle of Support, including live chat, a peer support framework, and personalised digital content.
I am beyond excited to finally be able to meet the true needs of our community to scale our support services through the delivery of a global first digital circle of support dedicated to early pregnancy loss.
2. Adaptation and enhancement of the Stillbirth CRE’s Living with Loss Program into two new stand-alone programs targeted at families experiencing miscarriage and/or recurrent miscarriage.
Dr Siobhan Loughnan from Stillbirth CRE says: “We are excited to be able to partner with Pink Elephants and deliver Living with Loss for the early pregnancy loss community”.
3. Delivering Miscarriage Intensive Care and Counselling Services through PANDA, which will provide targeted mental health intervention for families experiencing miscarriage and/or recurrent miscarriage.
CEO PANDA, Julie Borninkhof said: “PANDA is proud to be partnering with Pink Elephants to deliver specialised miscarriage mental health and wellbeing services. This funding will bridge the gap in specialised support for families who have experienced miscarriage across Australia. By partnering with PANDA, Pink Elephants combine their expertise with our telehealth and counselling expertise, so we can offer an accessible, digitally mental health accredited service to families.”
In a climate of increased cost of living pressures, this funding will also ensure access to free support services for those that need it most.
Acknowledgement is at the heart of our work as such I wish to acknowledge all of the babies lives lost to miscarriage and the brave women that shared their experiences with us over the years to make this funding possible.
Pink Elephants want to acknowledge and thank Ged Kearney for listening to our communities needs and delivering this funding support that will have a long lasting impact on tens of thousands of Australians each year.
This is a miscarriage milestone in Australia one we can all be proud of. In a world that feels quite heavy this is good news we can celebrate. It’s progress. At Pink Elephants we are just getting started.