Miscarriage and Pregnancy Loss: How Counseling Can Help You Find Solid Ground

Miscarriage and Pregnancy Loss: How Counseling Can Help You Find Solid Ground
by Elizabeth Vivian, LPC, PMH-C

There’s a particular kind of silence that follows pregnancy loss. One day, your world changes and somehow everyone else’s keeps spinning. If you’ve gone through a miscarriage, stillbirth, or any kind of pregnancy loss, let me start by saying this: I’m so sorry. And you’re not alone, no matter how much it feels like it.

Loss at any stage is real. It’s heavy. It’s complicated. And for a lot of people, it’s also incredibly lonely.

As a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Certified Perinatal Mental Health professional (PMH-C) in Baton Rouge, I work with individuals navigating infertility, miscarriage, and all the grief and confusion that comes with it. Here’s what I want you to know:

1. Your Grief Is Real No Matter How Early the Loss Was

I hear it all the time:
“It was early, so I shouldn’t feel this upset.”
“Other people have had it worse.”
“I should be over it by now.”

But grief isn’t something you have to earn. If it hurts, it matters. You don’t need to justify your pain or minimize it. Counseling gives you permission to feel it, whatever “it” is, without comparison or shame.

2. Emotions Can Be Messy (And That’s Normal)

Pregnancy loss can bring a whole storm of feelings: sadness, guilt, anger, shame, fear, numbness—and sometimes all of them in the same day. You might feel disconnected from your body. You might feel confused about how to talk to your partner. You might feel nothing at all and wonder if that’s okay (it is).

Therapy is a space where all of it is welcome. No masks, no pretending you’re okay. Just room to be where you are.

3. When the World Moves On, You Still Deserve Space to Grieve

Maybe no one knew you were pregnant. Maybe people have said the wrong things. Or maybe they’ve stopped checking in altogether.

But your loss still lives in your body, in your heart, and in your day-to-day. Counseling offers a space where your grief doesn’t have to be hidden. You don’t have to move on, “be strong,” or pretend you’re okay. There’s no rush to “move on.” Healing doesn’t mean forgetting, it means giving your loss the care and acknowledgment it deserves.

4. Thinking About Trying Again? That’s Complicated, Too

After a miscarriage or loss, even the idea of getting pregnant again can feel loaded. You may want to try again right away or not at all. You may feel terrified, uncertain, or disconnected from hope.

Therapy can help you:

• Process your fears and anxieties

• Navigate fertility treatments or medical decisions

• Rebuild trust in your body and yourself

• Talk openly about your doubts, your grief, and your dreams for the future

There’s no “right” way to move forward, just your way. And you don’t have to figure it out alone.

You’re Not Broken, You’re Human

Pregnancy loss shakes everything. Your identity, your relationships, your sense of safety in your own body. You’re not broken for struggling. You’re human.

If you're in Baton Rouge, or anywhere in Louisiana, I offer both in-person and virtual sessions. Whether your loss was recent or something you've carried quietly for years, I'm here when you're ready.