What we help with / Pregnancy loss

Everyone moved on. You didn't. That isn't a problem with you.

Counselling after miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, stillbirth, termination for medical reasons and infant loss, including losses nobody else knew about. Virtual across Ontario, or in person in Toronto.

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What pregnancy loss counselling is, and when people come

Pregnancy loss counselling is grief therapy for miscarriage, stillbirth, termination for medical reasons (TFMR), ectopic pregnancy and infant loss. In Ontario, it’s provided by Registered Social Workers and Registered Psychotherapists. As many as one in four people experience a pregnancy loss, which makes it one of the most common experiences there is, and one of the least talked about.

People come at every point. Some book within a couple of weeks. Many come months or years later, often when a new pregnancy, an anniversary or someone else’s announcement brings it back. Both are normal, and there’s no window you’ve missed.

At Toronto Therapy Practice, all of our therapists work with pregnancy loss. Sessions are available virtually across Ontario, with in-person sessions in Toronto with select therapists. Fees are $175 to $200 for 50 minutes depending on the therapist, with a free 15 minute consultation first.

You might recognize this

Things we often hear in a first session

"I feel like I'm the only one still thinking about it."

"I was only nine weeks. I don't know if I'm allowed to be this sad."

"Nobody knew I was pregnant, so nobody knows I'm grieving."

"I made the decision and I still can't forgive myself for it."

"I can't be around anyone who's pregnant."

"My partner seems fine and I resent them for it."

"The due date is coming and I don't know what to do with it."

"I want to try again and I'm terrified of trying again."

Grief after pregnancy loss is often disenfranchised grief. It’s real, but it doesn’t always get the support and recognition other losses do. After an early loss, there may be no ritual at all, and sometimes no one who even knew. After a later loss, there may be a funeral, but people often stop asking long before the grief eases. Either way, a lot of this work is about giving the loss somewhere to sit.

Termination for medical reasons is its own experience. It’s a loss and a decision at the same time, and the grief often comes tangled with self-blame that people around you don’t know how to respond to. It helps to work with someone who knows this territory well.

Two people holding each other during a therapy session

There is no version of this you were supposed to handle better.

What the work looks like

What we do

Take your loss seriously, however early it happened, and make room for whatever it means to you
Work with TFMR specifically, including the decision as well as the loss
Create ways to mark the loss where the world offered none, including for losses nobody knew about
Prepare for anniversaries, due dates and other people's announcements, so they don't catch you off guard
Work with the two of you when you're grieving at different speeds, which is the norm rather than the exception
Support the decision about trying again, and stay with you through the pregnancy if there is one

What we don't do

Say it was for the best, or that it happened for a reason
Tell you that at least you know you can get pregnant
Measure your grief against how many weeks you were
Rush you toward trying again, or toward closure, which is not a real thing
Treat a partner's different grief as a lack of grief

Who works with this

Three of the seven work here most. Pick whoever you'd rather talk to.

Annie Peralty

RP · Fertility, loss and surrogacy

Pregnancy and infant loss, TFMR, with personal understanding.

Openings this week

Ruth Diemer

MSW RSW · 30 years

Thirty years in grief and family work.

Openings this week

Kate Bailey

MSW RSW · EMDR and trauma

When the loss was traumatic or medical. EMDR.

Openings this week

Alana Jackson

MSW RSW · 20 years, including Mount Sinai

Grief and loss, and pregnancy after it.

Waitlist, about 3 weeks

Caroline Nikiel

MSW RSW · 11 years, hospital practice

Support for both partners after a loss.

Openings this week

Mila Arsenijevic

MSW RSW · Founder, 18 years, including 10 at Mount Sinai

Grief, trying again, and pregnancy after loss.

Openings this week

Emilie Ballarino

MSW RSW, MBA · 10 years

Practical support for getting back to work and daily life.

Openings this week

See all seven therapists

Before you book

Questions we get about this one in particular.

It's been years. Is it too late to get help?

No. A significant number of people come to us years later, often triggered by a new pregnancy, a birthday that would have been, or a friend's announcement. Grief that was never given room does not expire, it waits.

I was only a few weeks along. Does that count?

Yes. How far along you were doesn't decide how much it hurts. Early losses can be especially hard because the people around you may not see it as a real loss, which can leave you grieving on your own. Whatever you're feeling about it is worth talking about.

Do you work with termination for medical reasons?

Yes, and it needs a clinician who has worked with it before. TFMR is a loss and a decision at once, and generic grief support usually mishandles it. Annie Peralty works with this directly.

My partner and I are grieving differently. Is that normal?

Extremely. One person often needs to talk and the other needs to function, and each reads the other as not caring. That mismatch is one of the most common reasons couples come in after a loss, and it is workable.

Can I come while I'm pregnant again?

Yes. Pregnancy after loss is one of the things this practice was built around, and the same therapist can stay with you through it rather than handing you on.

All questions people ask us

Reading on this

Articles on miscarriage, infant loss and the grief that follows.

Pregnancy loss Pregnancy loss Grief with no funeral: why pregnancy loss is harder to mourn Pregnancy loss produces real grief without the rituals that carry other deaths. Why that makes it harder, and what helps when the world offers nothing to mark it. 29 Sep 2026

Pregnancy loss Coping with Pregnancy Loss and Infant Loss The difference between grief and depression after pregnancy or infant loss, the physical symptoms of grief, and how to support someone grieving. 29 Oct 2024

Pregnancy loss Navigating Pregnancy After Loss: 6 Practical Tips to Manage Your Anxieties Pregnancy after loss can be a challenging and emotional journey. It’s natural to feel a mix of hope and anxiety, and finding ways to manage those feelings is crucial for your… 27 Aug 2024

Pregnancy loss How to Heal Emotionally From a Miscarriage Ten to twenty percent of pregnancies end in miscarriage. Practical short-term and long-term ways to cope, including how partners grieve differently. 16 Sep 2023

All 4 articles on this

You are allowed to still be sad about this.

Whatever the gestation was, whoever knew, however long ago. Fifteen minutes, free, with someone who has heard it before.

Book a free 15 minute call Look at the therapists first

See all 4 articles on pregnancy and infant loss