In Today’s Issue:

🔗 The best resources I found this week
📖 Deep dive: Top Takeaways From Our Bereavement Summit

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Want to learn how to get Forget Me Not Boxes in your hospital? Reply “Bereavement boxes”

🔗 The Best Resources I Found This Week

📝 Survey Link
If you attended, it would mean so much to Jay and I to get your feedback on the event to help us prepare for our next event. Note: It will ask you to enter your email to fill out the survey

📘 Share Resources
Cindy and Rose delivered so much valuable content in this training. Here are the trainings they mentioned. They will offer a 10% discount on all online trainings until 12/31/25. Also, if anyone is interested in a sample pack of Share materials if they email [email protected].

Discount Code: FORGETMENOT

📖 Deep Dive

Top Takeaways From Our Bereavement Summit

Okay team… I’m still smiling thinking about our event yesterday.
I’m honestly still feeling the energy of it.

If the event was meaningful for you too, I would invite you to please help us spread the word about the work we’re doing at Forget Me Not and invite a co-worker to join our newsletter: fmncorp.com/newsletter 

I was nervous until I remembered—this room is full of people who care the same way I do. Hearing all 175+ boxes pop into the virtual room… it just felt like home.

And wow… you showed up.
And you stayed.
And you shared your hearts.

Before we jump into the highlights, let me set the stage with the three stats I opened with—because they really shaped why this event mattered so much:

• 1 in 4 nurses said they need more support for their own emotional well-being.

• 40% of nurses said they don’t feel confident communicating with families after a loss.

• 2 out of 3 reported that they or their staff have never received formal bereavement training.

These numbers aren’t criticisms—they’re signposts.
They’re telling us exactly where we need to go together.

And this group? You jumped right in.

So here are the biggest takeaways—your stories, your wisdom, your compassion, woven together with SHARE’s evidence-based teaching.

1. “Parents will remember your care for the rest of their lives.” – SHARE

Rose and Cindy opened with something that sat heavy with all of us:

I saw the chat fill up immediately.
Nurses saying “Yes.”
Nurses saying “This is why I’m here.”
Nurses saying “This part gets me every time.”

One nurse shared:

2. The Power of Active Listening: “What I'm hearing you say is…”

This was one of the most practical tools SHARE walked us through:

Mirror their words back.

That phrasing offers clarity, gentleness, and a moment of control.

We saw in the chat how much this resonated:

3. The Word That Changes Everything: Some

This one is tiny but mighty.

Cindy and Rose kept repeating it:

“Some” gives families options without pressure.
Our chat lit up here too.
People typing “YES YES YES.”

This is how we give control back in a moment where everything feels out of control.

4. Memory-Making Is Not Optional—It’s Foundational

If there was one theme that got repeated over and over, it was this:

But also—every family is different.

And you all brought the best ideas:

• Tiny crocheted hearts (multiple nurses shared these)

• Luke’s Lovies baby booties – Ann shared this gem

• Bridget’s Cradles

• Sponge baths with warm water and baby soap – nurses described their step-by-step approach in the chat

• Charms and keychains with birthstones

• “Let them keep the items as long as needed” – Ann again, queen of gentle follow-up

And one of my favorite quotes from the session:

5. Gentle Language Matters More Than We Realize

Cindy and Rose reminded us:

• Avoid “fetus,” “fetal remains,” “missed abortion.”

• Say “baby.”

• Use the baby’s name if given.

• Refer to parents as “mom” and “dad.”

6. Early Losses Need Real Support Too

A big theme came up in the chat:

Nurses in EDs, outpatient clinics, and surgery centers said early losses are often where training is thinnest and parents feel most alone.

One nurse shared:

And people immediately started helping her brainstorm.

This community is magic.

7. Follow-Up Care: The Conversation Nobody Wants But Everyone Needs

When Anne shared her follow-up story… the whole room froze.

Anne was an attendee who has had over 40 years of experience as a bereavement coordinator. She said she once texted a mother for a full year with no response. Then the mother finally told her:

I swear, the chat exploded with hearts.
Everyone wrote how much that meant.

And Pat added:

Those words could be carved into stone.

8. Staff Support Is Not a Luxury—It’s a Survival Skill

One of the most important side conversations:

Another shared:

I saw so many heads nodding.
Nurses need structure.
Nurses need permission.
Nurses need a place to put the weight.

SHARE echoed it beautifully:

9. A Special Call-Out to All the Attendees Who Shared During the Discussion

Pat, with 40+ years of bereavement care…
When you said:

Everyone felt their shoulders relax.

And Ann, your follow-up stories and resource ideas…
Your calm confidence helped so many people in the chat.

When someone wrote:

Another nurse shared she was inspired to become a bereavement coordinator because she was her Mom’s rainbow baby 🌈.

And To Every Single One of You Who Shared… Thank You

To the nurses who opened up about their own losses. To the doulas extending care into the home. To the ED nurses trying to advocate up the chain. To the coordinators working with no budget, no manual, no roadmap. To the rural hospitals doing the best you can with what you have. To the nurses who said, “We’re trying… we’re trying so hard.”

I saw you. All of you. And I’m so grateful you trusted this room.

Final Thought

Here’s what I walked away with:

We are not alone.
We’re building this together.
And bereavement care gets better every single time nurses gather like this and share honestly.

Thank you for showing up with your courage, your ideas, your grief, your humor, your creativity, and your whole hearts.

Let’s keep going.
Families need us.
And we need each other.

— Trina & Jay 💛

👋 That’s a Wrap!

Before you go: Here are ways we can help your hospital

Education: Please share our newsletter with your co-workers. Our priority is empowering nurses with the tools to support patients with modern, evidence-based bereavement education.

Bereavement boxes: Our bereavement boxes were designed out of a need for a modern high quality solution for families suffering from miscarriage, stillborn, or infant death.

Reply to this email “Sample” to get a free sample sent to your hospital.

What we prioritize:

1. Tools for hospitals to create a bereavement experience for families to begin their grief journey

2. Educating nurses with modern bereavement standards and continuing education.

3. Helping hospitals build a foundation of trust and support, so bereaved families feel seen and cared for—now and in the years to come.

These boxes were born out of our own personal losses, including Jay’s (CEO) 15 years of experience working in labor and delivery as a CRNA and witnessing time and again how the hospital experience can profoundly shape a family’s grief journey, for better or for worse.

Until next week,

Trina and Jay
Co-founders of Forget Me Not