#19 Pregnancy After Loss and Talking to Children About Baby Loss with Frankie Brunker

This week’s episode is the second half of my interview with Frankie Brunker, author of the book, These Precious Little People. You can listen to the first part of her story in Episode 17.

Frankie’s first child, her daughter, Esme, was stillborn in 2013. Years later, after having two further children, she decided to write the book, These Precious Little People, to help parents talk to children of all ages about baby loss.

In the interview, we talk about:

• Her experience of grief in the early days and weeks. (13:20)
• How attending her local Sands group helped and searching for answers. (15.47)
• Battling with self-doubt, shame and guilt (25:26)
• How her sister incorporated Esme in her children’s lives and the impact of Esme’s death on her nephew. (30:22)
• Pregnancy after loss, bringing her son home and reminders of Esme (37:40)
• Talking about Esme with her children. (50:48)
• Why she decided to write These Precious Little People (1:01:15)

You can connect with Frankie on Instagram @thesepreciouslittlepeople and find out more about her book on her website: https://preciouslittlepeople.wixsite.com/preciouslittlepeople/pre-order-a-copy.

The best place to buy a copy of These Precious Little People is on the website of Joel The Complete Package, as proceeds go to help support families through pregnancy and parenting after baby loss.

In the introduction, I talk about Skye’s first birthday and announce the giveaway winner. I also talk about some of the shocking statistics relating to pregnancy and infant loss and maternal death of black women in the UK.

This week, I wanted to give a special shout out to the Sisters in Loss podcast. The podcast has been going for almost 3 years with over 150 black women and men sharing their stories of pregnancy and infant loss and infertility. You can listen to the podcast on your usual podcast app or via the website: https://sistersinloss.com/