Welcome to the Sweet Peanuts blog. Not only do we want to share our journey and progress on becoming a successful not-for-profit and everything in-between, we want to discuss and create an understanding about a journey of loss, compassion, and recovery.
“Not only did I realise that I had to do this for myself, I had to keep going for the sake of couples suffering from the same experience in future” -Barbara Armstrong, Founder
Running a business or a not-for-profit organisation certainly wasn’t in any future plans of mine or my partner’s but since our own personal experience of loss in May of 2019, we started to become aware of an undeniable gap in support that we both had no idea even existed.
Our Condolences
Firstly, let us offer our condolences, for you or someone you know who has lost a loved little one. It will be hard to comprehend the devastation and feeling of being lost that accompanies being in this situation, so let us just say this…
We’re here for you.
We can’t say that we understand exactly what you’re going through because in reality, no two stories are the same.
For the women going through a loss, please be kind to yourself, remember that this is not your fault, and that healing can take time so don’t feel pressured or rushed to go back to work or normal day-to-day life because it will be hard. For some, a loss can be traumatic, physically painful, and graphic. Don’t feel like you are a burden because this is the time that you need to take care of yourself.
For the partner of a bereaved mother, It will be hard for both of you and your emotions are just as valid and important as that of your partner. Your partner will need your support through this, take some time to recover together as a couple. Seek out help and support if you’re unsure of how you can help yourself or your partner through this, there is help for you out there too.
For the Friends and Family of a bereaved parent/couple, We encourage you to reach out and offer your support to the bereaved women or couple who experience a loss, no matter how far they were into the pregnancy, a loss is a loss and it will be devastating for them. You don’t have to go above and beyond, just simply offering to make tea/coffee, do a bit of grocery shopping, or cook dinner for them will make a big difference. Please remember to also be mindful of your words of support when you’re comforting them. Our guide for Friends and Family and how best to approach this conversation can be downloaded here.
“We want to empower bereaved couples and their family to be open and share their grief with others”
The loss of a baby can be a difficult time for everyone, and we want to empower bereaved couples and their family to be open and share their grief with others. It’s time to normalise miscarriage and pregnancy loss and we want to show people how this can be achieved.
Our Loss
In May of 2019, newly engaged and at 21 years old, my partner and I were expecting our first child ‘Peanut’. We were ecstatic and hopeful, picturing ourselves as first-time parents and very unexpectedly, it was all taken away from us. My first pregnancy had quickly turned into my first miscarriage and for the most part, all I can remember hearing is how ‘common’ it was.
“All I can remember hearing is how ‘common’ it was”
We were devastated beyond belief, isolated, and both felt unsupported. It wasn’t until some weeks later that I came across The Pink Elephants Support Network where I felt understood and read countless stories from women all over Australia who had similar experiences to share.
Unfortunately for me and my family, miscarriage and pregnancy loss doesn’t discriminate against age. This is the case for over 100,000 families in Australia every year, and like me, feel misunderstood, isolated and unsupported through their times of grief.
It has become clear that there is an undeniable gap in support for women who experience miscarriage and pregnancy loss. I started to think of ways of improving the care and support given to women and their families who endure the same grief and so, I founded Sweet Peanuts.
Care Packages
Care, comfort, and compassion is the cornerstone of our organisation and our mission to provide through our care packages. Currently, there isn’t any not-for-profit that addresses and provides for the physical pain experienced during a loss. The existing packages donated to hospitals and clinics include counselling materials and keepsakes, however not all couples benefit from these items and so there’s an opportunity to provide another level of care and comfort for this community.
We wanted to reduce the feelings of anxiety and depression through items that provide a sense of calm and relaxation such as aromatherapy, calming teas, and wheat bags for pain relief. We also want to provide a means of therapy through writing journals.
These packages have been researched and developed through suggestions by the bereaved parents community and research surrounding methods of reducing the effects of depression and anxiety, as well as the prevention of suicide.
We want to empower the friends and family of bereaved couples with insightful information on how to support and understand the women and couples who experience a loss. Empowerment will help to break the silence and stigma that surrounds miscarriage and through creating this understanding, more women and couples will feel less isolated in future.
To read more about our story, we invite you to visit our About us page.