Supporting Families Through Pregnancy Loss and Infant Death
Professional Development in Grief-Informed Care
A live online education series in grief- and trauma-informed perinatal bereavement care.
Pregnancy loss and infant death bring profound emotional, physical and relational impacts for families. The care they receive during this time can shape how they experience grief, adapt to life after loss and ongoing connection with their baby.
This professional development series supports practitioners to:
- Deepen grief literacy
- Strengthen communication skills
- Integrate a trauma-aware companioning approach
- Offer consistent, compassionate & personalised bereavement care
- Support themselves in sustainable working
Who This Workshop Is For
This programme is designed for professionals who support individuals and families navigating pregnancy loss of any kind, stillbirth, neonatal death and SUDI.
Pregnancy loss includes but is not limited to: unsuccessful IVF/surrogacy, infertility, abortion, miscarriage, ToPFA.
It is suitable for those working across healthcare, therapeutic, community and wellbeing settings, including:
- Midwives, doulas and perinatal practitioners
- Health visitors
- Nurses working in emergency, neonatal, paediatric, gynaecology or community settings
- Doctors working in obstetrics & gynaecology and emergency care
- General Practitioners and all GP practice staff
- Perinatal mental health practitioners
- Paramedics and ambulance crews
- Counsellors and psychotherapists
- Social workers and family support practitioners
- Members of the police force & armed forces
- Nursing, midwifery, medical and allied health students
- Chaplaincy and pastoral care providers
- Charity and volunteer sector staff working in bereavement support
- Yoga teachers, retreat facilitators and other wellbeing professionals working with women
All are welcome
No prior specialist bereavement experience or qualification is required. The training is accessible to practitioners at all stages of their professional journey.
Book your space for September 2026
Programme Overview
This professional development series integrates theoretical learning, reflective practice, applied discussion and practices supportive to professional sustainability.
Participants explore:
- Contemporary understandings of grief and mourning in the context of pregnancy loss and infant death
- A companioning approach to perinatal bereavement care
- Skilled and compassionate communication during acute and ongoing loss
- Cultural, social and systemic influences on grief and care
- Practical ways to strengthen support for bereaved families
- The role of ritual, remembrance and meaning-making after loss
- Postpartum recovery following pregnancy loss and its place within bereavement care
- Reflective practice, personal awareness and professional sustainability when working alongside grief
- Integration of learning – bringing it into everyday practice
What’s Included
- Five live online sessions
- Recordings available
- Reflective exercises and guided activities between sessions (approximately 1–2 hours per week)
- Learning outcomes document available for CPD evidence
- Accreditation and formal CEU approval currently in progress
Designed as a Learning Journey
This series has been intentionally designed as a learning journey rather than a collection of standalone workshops.
Each session builds on the one before it. The reflective exercises and between-session activities are an integral part of the learning experience, not simply optional extras.
To gain the greatest benefit from the series, participants are encouraged to attend live wherever possible and engage with the reflective activities between sessions. If you are unable to attend live, we strongly encourage you to watch the recording and complete the accompanying exercises before the next session.
In perinatal bereavement care, what we know matters. How we show up matters just as much. This series invites reflection on both.
Weekly topic outline
- Week 1: Introduction & Grief Literacy
- Week 2: The Companioning Philosophy
- Week 3: Strengthening Support
- Week 4: Ritual and Ceremony Across Cultures
- Week 5: Live Group Call for Reflection & Integration
All live sessions are recorded and will be available for 2 weeks
Between Sessions
Reflective exercises and guided activities
Approximately 1–2 hours per week
Activities may include guided meditation, journalling, reflective writing, personal inquiry, and practice-based learning.
These activities are designed to encourage:
- Integration of learning into practice
- Deeper personal and professional reflection
- Reflection on your own relationship with grief and loss
- Greater awareness of how you show up alongside bereaved families
Participants are invited to engage with these exercises at a pace and depth that feels appropriate for them.
Alignment with the UK National Bereavement Care Pathway
The UK National Bereavement Care Pathway (NBCP) has been developed by the pregnancy and baby loss charity Sands in partnership with the Miscarriage Association, Bliss, Antenatal Results and Choices (ARC), the Lullaby Trust, Royal College of Midwives, and other key organisations to ensure that all bereaved parents and families receive consistently high-quality, compassionate and personalised care.
This programme aligns with the following NBCP standards:
- Bereavement Care Training
- Emotional & Mental Health Assessment & Referral
- Bereavement Care Lead
- Informed Choices
- Opportunities to Make Memories
- Support & Resources for Healthcare Staff
What Participants Are Saying
Sam exudes so much love and compassion for the work she does and the families she serves. It was an honor to witness her interact with a couple who shared their story with us. I am grateful to have attended the class and I hope to return to do more in the future. Thank you Sam for sharing your beautiful gift with the world!
Sam allowed us to experience a very deep, serious subject in a gentle, loving and beautiful way. She was present, and also sensitive, connected and held the space incredibly with strength and gracefulness. I loved the different exercises offered to add rhythm in the teachings and allow breaks and reflection. I loved the mix of book and teacher references and personal experiences. I would recommend it to every human.
Sam’s workshop is an invitation to go within, to reflect on our own experiences and bring awareness to our relationship with death and holding space for grief in its many forms. I think this workshop is a must for birth workers as birth work is death work, and we all encounter it, or will eventually do so. Sam has managed to touch a very sensitive topic with love and care; it’s a very nice container, and it was beautiful to be a part of it.
Programme Dates & Pricing
Tuesdays
September 2026
8, 15, 22, 29
October 2026
6
12:00–2:00 pm (BST / UTC+1)
Please check your local time zone.
Pricing
Standard rate: £175 GBP
Student / early career practitioner rate: £99 GBP
Programme Facilitator
Samantha Leggett, MPH, RN
Sam is the founder of The Tomorrow House and a specialist educator in grief-informed and trauma-aware care. She is a UK-registered nurse with a Master’s degree in Public Health (Maternal Health), and brings over three decades of global clinical, research and educational experience to her work.
Sam is a Mum of 3 and her professional background spans maternal and child health, bereavement support and professional education across clinical and community settings.
Her approach is evidence-informed and relational, shaped by both extensive clinical practice and lived experience of loss. Drawing on additional training in yoga and wisdom traditions, she incorporates grounded nervous system awareness and reflective inquiry to support sustainable, attuned care.
Sam creates structured yet nurturing learning environments where connection, meaningful dialogue, depth of reflection and professional growth are thoughtfully held.
For a fuller overview of Sam’s background and philosophy, read more here.
Book your space for September 2026Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about the seriesA learning outcomes document is available for professionals seeking to evidence continuing professional development. Accreditation and formal CEU approval are currently in progress. Participants will be notified of any accreditation updates.
This programme is for any professional who supports families through pregnancy loss, stillbirth, neonatal death, or sudden unexpected death in infancy. It’s open to nurses, midwives, doctors, therapists, doulas, social workers, chaplains, wellbeing practitioners, sonographers and first responders at any career stage.
Students of these professions are welcome to join the series too.
Yes. The programme is specifically designed as bereavement training for midwives working in maternity, labour ward, community, and continuity-of-care settings. It covers the clinical, emotional, and communication demands midwives face when supporting families through pregnancy loss, stillbirth, and neonatal death.
Yes. This is perinatal bereavement training for doulas, including birth doulas, postpartum doulas, and bereavement doulas. No clinical background is required, and the companioning approach is particularly well suited to the non-medical, relational role doulas hold with families.
No. The training is accessible to practitioners at all stages of their professional journey. No specialist qualification in bereavement care is required.
Yes. The programme runs on BST (UTC+1), but all live sessions are recorded, so participants in Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada, Asia, and elsewhere can attend live or catch up within the programme window.
The companioning approach is a relational model of grief support developed by Dr. Alan Wolfelt. You can read more in his book, Understanding Your Grief. It asks the practitioner to witness and accompany the bereaved, rather than treat or fix grief. The course teaches you how to apply this in clinical and community care.
The course supports practitioners working within the standards set out in the NBCP, including Bereavement Care Training, Emotional and Mental Health Assessment and Referral, Informed Choices, Opportunities to Make Memories, and Support and Resources for Healthcare Staff.
Yes. Participants who complete the programme receive a certificate of completion along with a learning outcomes document to support CPD records.