Pregnancy Support Group Set for Morgantown Library

Over a quarter of reported pregnancies end in some sort of loss.

Lily New and the Village Library of Morgantown feel that support is vital to recovering from that loss. That's why Lily and her husband, Thomas, started their second pregnancy support group at the library, 207 Walnut St., Morgantown.

The group, titled the "Sacred In-Between," will cover a multitude of forms of loss, including miscarriages, stillbirths, infertility and other forms of early pregnancy loss.

"It's the in-between of the heavy grief of losing your child and then the hope that it's not always going to be so heavy," Lily New said. "Having support with a community really helps that."

The group held its inaugural meeting from 1:30 to 3 p.m. on May 11 in the library's community room and will continue to meet the fourth Monday of every month at the same time. Due to the sensitive nature of conversation, no children are permitted.

New shared that her and her husband have lost two babies, one through miscarriage and another through stillbirth. Joining a support group helped the couple recover from their losses, which is what inspired them to start the groups of their own.

"It's something that's really close to my heart," she said. "(The support group) has blessed my husband and I a lot ... we want to help parents just normalize their grief and be able to talk about their babies and feel comfortable with that, because there's not always a lot of support with that type of grief."

New drew a contrast to how people respond when people have lost a loved one, saying that many can relate to losing a parent or a grandparent. The majority of people have not dealt with loss in pregnancy, which can create a stigma around the topic.

New did not suggest that joining a support group will remove one's grief but did state how joining one helped her deal with the struggle.

"My grief is a good part of my life, whether you see it or not," she said. "I feel like when I give my grief an hour or two each month, it just regulates me for the rest of the month and makes it easier to carry for the rest of the month."

New started her first support group at Abundant Life Church in April. That support group is more faith-based and meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second Monday of every month at the church, 320 W. Main St., Birdsboro.

"If people feel comfortable sharing, we start out with sharing who we are," New said. "We share the babies we lost, and then we just kind of go from there in terms of what people are struggling with at that specific meeting."

The Village Library of Morgantown is also offering a book sale on Thursday, May 28, and Friday, May 29. The sale will be underway from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on both days, as well as from 4 to 8 p.m. on Thursday. For more information about the book sale, pregnancy support group or other library programs, call 610-286-1022 or email smolibrary@gmail.com. The library can also be found by searching "Village Library of Morgantown" on Facebook.

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