Intermountain Health Opens New Specialized Pregnancy After Loss Clinic – Only 9th in Nation – to Support Families Through Future Pregnancies
For many families, becoming pregnant again after a miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death can bring a mix of hope, grief, anxiety, and uncertainty.
Now, Intermountain Health is marking the opening of a rare, specialized clinic dedicated to supporting women and families who have experienced pregnancy or infant loss and are pursuing their hopes of growing their family in the future.
The Intermountain Pregnancy After Loss Clinic at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray is one of only nine designated clinics in the nation to receive certification from the United States Pregnancy After Loss Support (USPAL) program.
The new Intermountain clinic uses trauma-informed practices to provide comprehensive, compassionate care for women navigating the unique emotional and medical needs after pregnancy after loss.
The Intermountain Health Pregnancy After Loss Clinic was created to address those unique emotional and medical needs by bringing enhanced support, coordinated care, and specialized expertise together in one setting.
"There are so many questions and anxieties that happen for families when going through another pregnancy after experiencing a loss," said Jessica Page, MD, an OB-GYN physician at the Intermountain Health Pregnancy After Loss Clinic at Intermountain Medical Center. "Our Pregnancy After Loss Clinic helps women and their families feel supported throughout their pregnancy journey by bringing compassionate support, coordinated care, and enhanced communication together in one convenient clinical setting. We also offer consultation services to support families and providers across a broader geographic region and plan to extend many of our resources to additional clinics in Intermountain Health."
Pregnancy loss is more common than many people realize.
More than 20,000 pregnancies end in stillbirth each year in the United States, and approximately one in four women will experience pregnancy loss during their lifetime.
A cornerstone of the new Intermountain clinic's care model is recognizing the lasting emotional impact pregnancy, and infant loss can have on parents and families.
"A major part of our care model in the Pregnancy After Loss Clinic is recognizing the mental health aspect of care after pregnancy loss and ensuring it's top of mind in every interaction with our patients," said Liz Hernandez, senior practice manager for the clinic. "We know not everyone has access to the same family or peer support, so we work to ensure patients feel that support with every caregiver they encounter."
For Hernandez, the mission of the clinic is deeply personal.
After experiencing the loss of one of her twins to Sudden Unexplained Infant Death (SUID) following a complicated twin pregnancy, she later navigated pregnancy after loss herself.
Those experiences as both a patient and a mother have shaped her understanding of the fears and emotions families often carry into future pregnancies.
As part of the USPAL certification process, clinics are required to involve a parent who has personally experienced pregnancy or infant loss.
Hernandez brings that perspective into caregiver training and patient care, helping ensure compassion remains at the center of every family experience.
All caregivers at the Intermountain Health Pregnancy After Loss Clinic complete specialized trauma-informed training designed to help them better understand and respond to the needs of patients who have experienced loss.
Care plans are tailored to each family and include a strong emphasis on emotional wellbeing, mental health support, and connections with peers who have faced similar experiences.
“Our goal is to create a consistent standard of compassionate care while improving outcomes for patients and families,” said Hernandez. “Our caregivers use the latest research and evidence-based practices to guide care and help families feel informed and supported throughout their pregnancy journey.”
In addition to caring for patients, the clinic will participate in research efforts focused on pregnancy and infant loss, helping advance understanding of why losses occur and how maternity care can continue to improve.
"There are still so many unknowns about why pregnancy loss occurs," said Dr. Page. "Thanks to ongoing research, we've started to get some answers, which has given us the tools to better care for patients and support them through future pregnancies. We have a lot more to learn, and USPAL Network is working together to better understand how best care for patients who have experience prior loss."
“The Intermountain Pregnancy After Loss Clinic reflects Intermountain Health's commitment to whole-person care by addressing both the physical and emotional needs of families during one of life's most vulnerable experiences,” added Dr. Page.
For more information about the Intermountain Pregnancy After Loss Clinic, visit Intermountain Health's maternity services website at https://connect.intermountainhealth.org/pregnancy-after-loss.
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