S2: E8: Stepping Past the Clinical: The Healing Power of Peer Support and Caring for the Carers Video
The Miscarriage RebellionShow Notes
In this episode, host Stacey welcomes Lauren Sun, Pink Elephants' Peer Support Coordinator, to discuss the profound impact of peer support and the crucial need for caring for the carers.
Lauren openly shares her personal history of loss, which includes three miscarriages, an ectopic pregnancy that required emergency surgery, and a vanishing twin that resulted in the birth of her son, Marcus. She notes that her losses were often so rushed and medical—especially the ectopic pregnancy and the twin loss—that she didn't have time to fully process the grief at the moment, only to have it resurface years later.
Lauren found her way to Pink Elephants five years after her last loss, feeling she had reached a point of healing where she could give back. She describes the first peer support chat as "simple" and "empowering," realizing the profound therapeutic power of acknowledgement and validation—the client only wanted to be heard and told, "I'm really sorry."
Lauren defines peer support as being there to simply hear you and validate your feelings, offering a message of hope: "It will be okay." It differs from clinical support by avoiding jargon and advice; the core service is listening and sitting with you in your pain.
She notes that peer support often acts as a frontline service, seeing people in moments of acute emotional pain, whether they are straight out of the hospital, experiencing an anniversary, or struggling with complicated emotions like being both sad for themselves and happy for a pregnant friend.
As the Peer Support Coordinator, Lauren also manages a team of lived-experience volunteers, a role she takes on by "caring for the carers." She conducts check-ins, covers shifts, and facilitates a supportive WhatsApp group, ensuring the team's capacity to continue their demanding frontline work. She believes this support system gives her own losses meaning.
Lauren shares that her relationship with grief has evolved from fear and avoidance to acceptance. She now sees grief as a normal part of life, often fitting in her pocket, but occasionally growing "huge." Her advice for dealing with a sudden onset of intense pain years after a loss is to "let it roll over you." Allow the sadness and feel the feelings, because pushing it away will only make it pop up at worse times.
EARLY PREGNANCY LOSS SUPPORT If you or someone you know has experienced miscarriage or early pregnancy loss, please know you are not alone.
* For crisis support, please call Lifeline - 13 11 14. * Access all our support [https://www.pinkelephants.org.au/page/65/find-support] * Connect through Live Chat with Peer Support [https://www.pinkelephants.org.au/page/75/peer-support-live-chat] * Join Online Communities [https://www.pinkelephants.org.au/page/74/peer-support-online-communities] * Call out Pregnancy Loss helpline delivered by PANDA [https://www.pinkelephants.org.au/helpline] * Join the Circle of support [https://www.pinkelephants.org.au/the-circle] * Follow @pinkelephantssupport [https://www.instagram.com/pinkelephantssupport] on Instagram.
Pink Elephants thanks the Australian Government for their support in funding this podcast series under the Miscarriage Support grant.
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