Mothers Grieving Loss Of Infant Find Comfort In Tulsa Support Group

A local support group is hoping more grieving mothers will come to their monthly meetings - specifically mothers who have lost a baby before birth, at birth, or while the baby was still an infant.

The group can help grieving parents cope, especially during the holidays.

Anyone who has lost a loved one knows dealing with grief around the holidays can be extra painful. That's why a group of Tulsa-area moms wants to help other parents who have experienced the loss of their most precious gift.

You always hear it said, everybody grieves differently. But some experience a special kind of grief you can't understand unless you've experienced it yourself.

"People don't talk about infant loss; they don't talk about miscarriages," said Cat Markham.

Cat Markham is the director of MEND: Mommies Enduring Neonatal Death.

"It really helped me put one foot in front of the other. It helped me say, I can get up tomorrow."

Markham has been coming to MEND since 2011. She has four living children, and three babies in Heaven. She says coming to MEND has been a vital part of her life.

"I knew that I wasn't alone. I knew that someone else understood me," she said.

And she's not the only one. Ryan Pickle says MEND has been a necessary part of her journey after she had three miscarriages and one stillbirth - her name was Mollie.

Both mothers say dealing with losing a child is hard year-round, but this time of the year that loss stings a little more.

"You always feel a part of your child missing from everything you do. And so, when the holidays approach, your child is missing," said Ryan Pickle, a member of MEND.

The women say they know coming to MEND is hard the first time.

"It's almost like you can shed all of those walls, and everyone understands everyone," Pickle said.

But it's a group that can understand your grief in a way no one else can.

"There will be a plethora of women who are willing to hold your hand, and come with you, drive you, meet you at the door, sit by you," she said.

Find out more information about MEND meetings and events.

MEND Facebook page.