City mum guides others on path through grief
Months after suffering her own tragedy, a Toowoomba mum has founded a support group for women who have experienced pregnancy and newborn loss.
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Months after suffering her own tragedy, a Toowoomba mum is helping others find hope in their heartbreak.
Dr Ashleigh Smith has been named as one of the finalists for the Australian Women’s Weekly Veeda Women of the Future Awards after founding The Glimmer Project, a support group for women who have experienced pregnancy and newborn loss.
Dr Smith created the group as a legacy to her baby daughter Isla, who passed away shortly after she was born in January.
“Unfortunately, there were some complications at the last minute and she died when she was only two days old,” Dr Smith said.
“It was a terrible shock and I will spend my life grieving her.
“Having worked in obstetrics, I had managed patients who had lost babies but when it happens to you, it’s hard to understand the gravity and lifelong impact that it has.”
On her return home from hospital, Dr Smith drew on local support networks but felt she needed more. It was then that she came up with the idea of The Glimmer Project.
“I discovered there’s a lot of evidence for grief and mindfulness meditation,” she said.
“I decided to create an online coaching program which talks about different theories of grief and ways to help manage it with evidence-based strategies.
“There’s also an associated peer support group, which helps to develop a community for that person moving forward.”
Dr Smith has also created The Glimmer Podcast where she interviews bereavement experts and women who are working to overcome child loss.
“It’s had an unbelievable reaction both nationally and internationally,” she said.
“It was the number two podcast on the art section for Australia and is now trending in the UK, US and South Africa, which was unexpected.
“The podcast normalises the grieving process after pregnancy and newborn loss, and gives us hope that the pain won’t be as searing forever.”
The Veeda Women of the Future Award ceremony will be held in Sydney on December 3. Those looking for more information on the project can visit www.theglimmerproject.com.
