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Demand for services at Calgary’s Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support Centre (PILSC) has doubled in the past year, according to the organization that supports families navigating infertility, pregnancy loss or infant loss.
As it prepares for its annual Legacy Run and Walk, the centre says the fundraiser is more important than ever this year.
“One in four pregnancies end in loss,” says board chair Jamie Khory. “And that’s just reported loss so there is a good chance it is a lot higher than that.”
PILSC offers barrier-free mental health supports including counselling, peer mentorship and support groups, but warns there is a real possibility the centre will have to create waitlists for programs by the fall.
“Research has shown us that early intervention definitely helps with long-term mental care for the grieving families,” says Khory. “The sooner people do come in and see that support from us, we know they will be better off in their journey in the years to come.”
Adding to the increased demand is a decrease in funding. PILSC says this fall the government of Alberta made the decision not to renew a grant that provided the centre with $240,000 annually for three years.
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Over 60 per cent of PILSC’s funding comes from government grants, leaving the centre to rely more on fundraising to continue offering the services it says uniquely blends professional and peer support.
In a statement to Global News, the Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction said no one has to navigate the grief of pregnancy loss alone. It didn’t address the grant directly, but said, “as part of Alberta’s refocused health care system, we are committed to delivering health services more effectively and efficiently,” adding mental health services can be accessed through 211 and through Counselling Alberta.
For Natalie Freckleton it’s the community at PILSC that sets it apart from other supports offered through the health care system. She first went to the centre after experiencing a miscarriage after months trying to conceive.
“I hadn’t really ever spoke about it with anybody,” says Freckleton. “I didn’t know many people that had had a miscarriage, and I didn’t expect it to impact me the way it did.”
Freckleton says being able to connect with people who had experienced a similar type of loss allowed her to work through the complex emotions she was feeling.
“Pure sadness and frustration at the same time,” explains Freckleton. “And then you feel guilty for having this frustration or, you know, feeling selfish because all you want to talk about is your grief. I just wanted everyone to know I lost a baby and that’s all I could speak about for a really long time.”
PILSC has set a fundraising goal of $150,000 at Saturday’s run and both Freckleton and Khory hope they can hit that mark, so other families navigating their grief have access to the centre’s support.
“We just don’t want anyone feeling like they have to walk this path alone,” says Khory. “Because it can be very isolating.”
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