Glory Baby Ministry will partner with A Mother’s Village to better support families experiencing pregnancy and infant loss

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Glory Baby Ministry is announcing a new partnership with Emily Kaiser, the owner of A Mother’s Village, to expand the support available to families experiencing pregnancy and infant loss.

When Glory Baby Ministry Executive Director Jessica Heffinger lost her daughter, Riley Marie, at 21 weeks gestation, she experienced firsthand a gap in care that too many bereaved mothers face. Just 24 hours after coming home from the hospital, Heffinger’s milk came in.

No one explained that this could happen. No one talked her through what it meant, how to dry up her milk, or that she had other options—including continuing to pump and donate her milk if she wanted to.

“Once their milk comes in, I think the first step is that they need information. They need access to know what what are their options. So in summary, some people want to figure out how to drop their milk supply as quickly as possible, which is a completely valid option And there are lots of ways to go about that. And, there are other people that want to bring their milk supply in and donate to different milk banks and to other families in the community and that’s also a very valid option, but both definitely require support,” said Heffinger.

Emily Kaiser will add grief coaching to her existing professional services, lactation consultant and social worker.

The grief coaching program awarded Kaiser a partial scholarship, and Glory Baby Ministry covered the remaining balance.

Kaiser and Heffinger are passionate about identifying and addressing gaps in support for families following pregnancy and infant loss.

This partnership will allow families access to both lactation support and grief coaching, helping address the emotional and physical realities that can accompany pregnancy and infant loss.

“Once their milk comes in, I think the first step is that they need information. They need access to know what what are their options. So in summary, some people want to figure out how to drop their milk supply as quickly as possible, which is a completely valid option And there are lots of ways to go about that. And, there are other people that want to bring their milk supply in and donate to different milk banks and to other families in the community and that’s also a very valid option, but both definitely require support,” said Kaiser.

They say their passion is fueled by their belief that no grieving mother should ever have to wonder, “What do I do now?” 

To donate, go to glorybabyministry.org.

The next event for Glory Baby Ministry is the Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Event coming up on Oct. 15 at The Venue on Adams Street.