from the lending library

C. A. Reiser, M.S.

We have mentioned frequently our excitement as we develop the WiSSP Website, which will be up and running by September 1997. While our site will be unique, with an emphasis on providing accurate fact-based information to both parents and professionals about stillbirth, other websites for bereaved families do exist, and for those with access to the Worldwide Web, such sites may be helpful. This ‘Lending Library’ is devoted to the major websites that are currently on-line.

H.A.N.D.
Houston’s Aid in Neonatal Death
http://member.aol.com/handinfo1/handhome.html

H.A.N.D. is a peer support group for parents in the Houston area whose babies have died any time from conception through late infancy. The website for this organization is quite thorough, as their main menu illustrates, offering such items as information about grief reactions, available H.A.N.D. resources, creating memories, specific items for the caregiver, H.A.N.D. newsletter contents (and text), and a poetry collection. Like most websites they offer a Helpful Links section, and they do a nice job of summarizing what these links have to offer.

My ‘infancy’ at moving through websites found the H.A.N.D. site a challenge, since each page had multiple frames I could browse through (a text version with no frames is an option). However, in general this site was attractive and contained a great deal of helpful information.

Hygeia
http://www.hygeia.org/

Hygeia is described as an "Online Journal for Pregnancy and Neonatal Loss." This is an apt description, as one section is monthly articles, often medically oriented, relating to various topics of relevance. These articles, written mostly by members of the Yale University medical staff (Hygeia’s website creator, Dr. Michael Berman, is an Associate Clinical Professor at Yale’s University School of Medicine, Dept. of Ob/Gyn), include such topics as intrauterine growth retardation, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, and placental causes of pregnancy complications. Other sections include a Visitor’s Contribution area for sharing, e-mail registries for both families and caregivers, a complete volume of Poetry, and a Memories area for posting of pictures or other mementos. Poetry is heavily interspersed in all areas, which some may find comforting. Hygeia, with an emphasis on both emotional healing and medical information, is probably the most complete of the websites that currently exist.

Complications of Pregnancy
http://www.childbirth.org/articles/comp.html

As the name implies, this site covers a broad range of topics, not solely issues relating to pregnancy loss. Topics covered, among others, include Group B strep, diabetes, and low birth weight. In the pregnancy loss area one can also click on diverse areas, from "Immunotherapy and pregnancy loss" to "Stop that junk mail." While this website contains information on a wide variety of topics, where you are going or what you will see is always clear. Some links were pamphlets by specific groups, others were resource lists from Medline, and yet others were links to a relevant website.

Pen-Parents, Inc.
http://pages.prodigy.com/NV/fgck08a/PenParents.html

Pen-Parents is an international support network that matches bereaved parents so they can correspond via snail mail for mutual support and encouragement. The parents may have experienced loss at any time, from early miscarriage through death of an adult child. On their web page, Pen-Parents explains the purpose of their organization, how one can be involved, ordering information for selected resources, and offers access to a limited number of related sites.

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Network
http://sids-network.org/pil.htm

PILN is an extension of the SIDS Network. Their website is colorful and attractive with many opportunities for interaction. The interaction component includes areas such as First Person (for shared stories), Pictures of Love (for sharing photos), and a discussion area (to subscribe for e-mail conversation). Links to other sites and available resources round out this mostly family and bereavement oriented site.

SANDS: Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society http://members.aol.com/babyloss/sands.htm

SANDS is a network of volunteers supporting bereaved parents and their families in the United Kingdom, seemingly similar to bereavement organizations in our country. We hope to profile their program in a future issue of WiSSPers. Their website details services they offer for families and for health care professionals. Descriptions of the publications they provide are on-line with almost every area covered, from grandparents and siblings, to sexual problems following a stillbirth, to next pregnancies. The site is attractive and easy to move through.

SHARE-Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support, Inc. http://NationalSHAREOffice.com/

SHARE explains, in their website, their program’s purpose and the services they provide. This site does a good job of letting the visitor know what resources are available, with areas to visit that include the SHARE newsletters, starting your own SHARE group, listings of upcoming conferences, and links to a few relevant sites.