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PLIDA is pleased to announce the 2022 International Perinatal Bereavement Conference plenary speakers!Post-traumatic Stress in Black Mothers: The Interconnection of Systemic Racism with a Cumulative Legacy of Loss and TraumaDr. Major Kincade is opening the 22nd International Perinatal Bereavement Conference for a second time, the first time in conference history that a speaker has been invited to offer opening plenaries at back-to-back conferences. As a neonatologist, author, expert in health care for African Americans, teacher, board advisor, and widely known speaker, she will support us as we come through the only pandemic in our lifetimes. The frequency of post-traumatic distress in new mothers, especially mothers of color, is a hidden epidemic in childbearing women. This talk is intended to help those who provide health care to Black women to do so with a renewed sense of where we fall short. Only by coming to understand what these are, will we be able to know what questions to ask, how to ask them, and how to listen to responses. Terri Major-Kincade, MD
Dr Major-Kincade was first introduced to America over 20 years ago as the young Neonatologist featured on ABC’s Houston Medical, when her patient died unexpectedly on national television. She received her bachelor’s degree from Prairie View A&M University and her Medical and Master’s in Public Health’s Degrees from UCLA. She is a highly requested keynote speaker known in the industry for her authenticity and compassion in discussing challenging topics around racial health disparities and neonatal palliative care. Dr. Terri is a two-time best-selling author and has been featured in Ebony, NBC, Huggies and Black Doctor.Org. She currently serves as Chair for the Texas March of Dimes Steering Committee for African American Outreach as well as Chair for the Health Equity and Diversity Inclusion Committee for the National Board of Pregnancy Loss and Infant Death Alliance (PLIDA) and The Return To Zero HOPE Foundation. Unnatural Tragedies and the Nature of Traumatic Grief Little is understood about the nature and trajectory of traumatic grief in perinatal death. Current standards of practice, even in bereavement care, overlook the trauma inherent for many families after perinatal death. This session will review the biopsychosocial nuances of perinatal death and its relationship to traumatic grief. Participants will learn effective, immediate, and long-term caregiving and what trauma informed compassionate care looks like. Joanne Cacciatore, PhD
An Interactive Discussion with a Panel of Experts: Innovations in Perinatal and Neonatal Palliative Care PLIDA is proud to offer a multidisciplinary panel of known experts to present the latest research and clinical practice in perinatal and neonatal palliative care. Each presenter will speak individually and, as a group, respond to audience questions. With two physicians, advance practice and nurse researcher, child life specialist, and fetal therapy nurse both with additional training as a social worker as speakers, this unique educational experience promises to bring you new ideas, challenging reflections, and hope for growing competencies in caring for families who experience perinatal and neonatal palliative care. Brian S. Carter, MD
Dr. Carter is a board-certified Neonatologist who has practiced in academic medicine for 35 years. He is also trained in bioethics and palliative care. His current practice focuses on providing follow-up care to NICU graduates and serving as a consultant neonatologist in the Fetal Health Center. He enjoys mentoring medical students, residents, and fellows locally and across the country. He is the local PI for the NIH funded multi-site ECHO study of a cohort of babies born <30 weeks’ gestation. He publishes, lectures, and teaches in biomedical ethics and is the Co-Director of the CMH Certificate Program in Pediatric Bioethics. He is a pioneer in pediatric palliative, having contributed to the field for 20 years, and presently focuses on neonatal-perinatal palliative care. He has authored over 125 peer-reviewed articles and 40 book chapters addressing pediatric and neonatal care, ethics, and palliative care, and is a contributing author and editor of Merenstein & Gardner’s Handbook of Neonatal Intensive Care; the 1st textbook on pediatric palliative care, Palliative Care for Infants, Children & Adolescents; and the 1st textbook on neonatal-perinatal palliative care, Handbook of Perinatal & Neonatal Palliative Care – with Rana Limbo and Charlotte Wool. Dr. Carter is a past chairman of the AAP’s Section on Hospice & Palliative Medicine and has received honors from the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization (2003), the William A. Silverman Lecture in Ethics from the Pediatric Academic Societies (2008), and in 2018 he received the William T. and Marjorie Sirridge Endowed Professorship in Medical Humanities & Bioethics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, School of Medicine. In 2020 he became the Chairman of the Department of Medical Humanities & Bioethics at UMKC, School of Medicine and in 2021 he became the Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Clinical Pediatrics. He previously served on the faculty of Vanderbilt University and the Medical College of Georgia after leaving the US Army as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1996. An Interactive Discussion with a Panel of Experts: Innovations in Perinatal and Neonatal Palliative Care Emilie Lamberg Jones, BSW, RN, C-EFM, CPLC
Emilie Lamberg Jones has worked as a nurse and social worker in the area of women’s health and perinatal bereavement since 1990. She is a co-developer of the Fetal Concerns Center at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin which has been innovative in the provision of multi-disciplinary care-coordination, education and support to families following a fetal diagnosis. Emilie has a long history of providing mentorship and education to other professionals. She enjoys speaking and writing about the integration of perinatal bereavement practices into fetal care coordination. Emilie is an active member of the Fetal Therapy Nurse Network, the bereavement committee of the Mother’s Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes, and is an editorial board member of the Journal of Pediatric Surgical Nursing. Emilie is also a proud supporter of PLIDA. She currently serves on the Education Committee but is also a past board member and was a co-chair of several past conferences. An Interactive Discussion with a Panel of Experts: Innovations in Perinatal and Neonatal Palliative Care Terri Major-Kincade MD
Dr Major-Kincade was 1st introduced to America over 20 years ago as the young Neonatologist featured on ABC’s Houston Medical, when her patient died unexpectedly on national television. She received her bachelor’s degree from Prairie View A&M University and her Medical and Master’s in Public Health’s Degrees from UCLA. She is a highly requested keynote speaker known in the industry for her authenticity and compassion in discussing challenging topics around racial health disparities and neonatal palliative care. Dr. Terri is a two-time best-selling author and has been featured in Ebony, NBC, Huggies and Black Doctor.Org. She currently serves as Chair for the Texas March of Dimes Steering Committee for African American Outreach as well as Chair for the Health Equity and Diversity Inclusion Committee for the National Board of Pregnancy Loss and Infant Death Alliance (PLIDA) and The Return To Zero HOPE Foundation. An Interactive Discussion with a Panel of Experts: Innovations in Perinatal and Neonatal Palliative Care Meghaan R. Nguyen, MSW, CCLS
Meghaan Nguyen, MSW, CCLS, currently serves as the clinical coordinator for the Child Life and Expressive Therapies team at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. She began her career as a child life specialist working at a pediatric burn hospital. She immediately saw the therapeutic value in supporting families from the start of their trauma and continuing with them throughout their entire journey of recovery. She implemented group programming for patients and parents to support successful community reintegration after trauma. After working a few years in the profession, she obtained a master’s in social work to further her knowledge and complement her skill set. She completed a social work internship at Bo’s Place, a grief support center for children and families. It was there that Meghaan developed a passion for supporting families through bereavement. She continued her career as a child life specialist working in a pediatric emergency department and later at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in their pediatric special care unit. Seeing her work with families, Meghaan was afforded the opportunity to develop a new child life position with Memorial Hermann’s inpatient pediatric palliative care team and outpatient hospice program. Working in home settings provided greater insight in how to creatively adapt interventions to individualize care and support for the entire family. Meghaan has been a speaker at multiple regional, national, and international conferences regarding supporting siblings through death, maternal death, therapeutic play, and self-care. She authored a chapter regarding supporting grieving siblings in the Handbook of Perinatal and Neonatal Palliative Care. She has been involved in multiple national committees and task forces with the Association of Child Life Professionals and currently serves as the chair of the Professional Development Mega Committee. In her free time, Meghaan enjoys reading, trying new foods, and chasing after her two year old son, Oliver. An Interactive Discussion with a Panel of Experts: Innovations in Perinatal and Neonatal Palliative Care Rana Limbo, PhD, RN, CPLC, FAAN
As an international leader in perinatal bereavement, she has educated thousands of professionals; authored or edited six books, numerous journal articles and book chapters; and brought the teaching/learning theory of guided participation to be central in the RTS core curriculum. Her primary research topic, miscarriage, led to innovative understandings of the early ending of a pregnancy. Dr. Limbo has been involved in numerous organizations, including the Pregnancy Loss and Infant Death Alliance, where she served as president for two terms and numerous conference planning committees. She was recognized as a pioneer in perinatal bereavement at both the 2018 and 2020 conferences. She was an invited member of the International Work Group on Death, Dying, and Bereavement and inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, nursing's highest honor. In Their Own Words: Supporting the Sibling Bond The bond between an unborn baby and siblings can develop prior to birth and continue even after death. In times of bereavement, families frequently seek guidance from staff in how to support the needs of surviving siblings. Recognition and support of the sibling bond is important in the process of meeting their needs. In this session, siblings will describe their relationship with their deceased sibling and share important parts of that relationship, which is remembered and valued throughout their lifetime. Meghaan R. Nguyen, MSW, CCLS
Meghaan Nguyen, MSW, CCLS, currently serves as the clinical coordinator for the Child Life and Expressive Therapies team at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. She began her career as a child life specialist working at a pediatric burn hospital. She immediately saw the therapeutic value in supporting families from the start of their trauma and continuing with them throughout their entire journey of recovery. She implemented group programming for patients and parents to support successful community reintegration after trauma. After working a few years in the profession, she obtained a master’s in social work to further her knowledge and complement her skill set. She completed a social work internship at Bo’s Place, a grief support center for children and families. It was there that Meghaan developed a passion for supporting families through bereavement. She continued her career as a child life specialist working in a pediatric emergency department and later at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in their pediatric special care unit. Seeing her work with families, Meghaan was afforded the opportunity to develop a new child life position with Memorial Hermann’s inpatient pediatric palliative care team and outpatient hospice program. Working in home settings provided greater insight in how to creatively adapt interventions to individualize care and support for the entire family. Meghaan has been a speaker at multiple regional, national, and international conferences regarding supporting siblings through death, maternal death, therapeutic play, and self-care. She authored a chapter regarding supporting grieving siblings in the Handbook of Perinatal and Neonatal Palliative Care. She has been involved in multiple national committees and task forces with the Association of Child Life Professionals and currently serves as the chair of the Professional Development Mega Committee. In her free time, Meghaan enjoys reading, trying new foods, and chasing after her two year old son, Oliver. “Loving Wyatt: A Journey Through Infant Loss and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss” Join author and artist Mandy Kelso as she describes the many phases and faces of grief experienced after child loss and through years of recurrent pregnancy losses (12 miscarriages over the course of 4 years). She will read excerpts from her book entitled Poems for Wyatt (published November 2018) and share original artwork produced throughout her family’s ongoing grief and transformation. Mandy and her husband, Robbie Kelso, will engage with audience members in a conversation that will add depth and meaning to their story told through art, poetry, and rich narrative. Mandy Kelso
Mandy was the previous Resident Artist at Theceeflat Gallery in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and now has moved her studio to Beacon, NY. By sharing her artwork and studios, she has been able to support art exhibits and fundraisers for a myriad of global nonprofits and offers community art and design classes to the public on request. She has worked as an instructor, fashion designer, and costumer for over 20 years and has painted over the last 15 years. She has read her written works at various readings across New York City and has been published in abbreviated collections. While her artwork focuses on narrative scenes from around the world (plein aire paintings from her travels) and the power, color, and profundity of the human spirit, her poetry more often comments on the unifying themes of struggle which serve to ignite and magnify such profundity. Reducing the “Cost of Caring” after Perinatal Loss Caring for families who have experienced the trauma of losing a much-loved baby through miscarriage, stillbirth, or newborn death may be difficult and heart-wrenching. This work affects the emotional, physical, and spiritual aspects of clinicians’ lives. Clinicians must nurture and care for themselves, as well, to make sure the personal cost of such caring is not excessive. This session will review the research related to perinatal loss and compassion fatigue symptoms, risk and protective factors, and provide practical, innovative suggestions for self-care to enable clinicians to continue with this critically important and tender work. Marianne H. Hutti, PhD, WHNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN  Dr. Marianne Hutti is a full Professor at the University of Kentucky College of Nursing, and a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner in private practice, managing the care of about 500 women in Louisville, KY. Dr. Hutti publishes often and speaks frequently at national and international meetings on subjects related to women’s health care. She is nationally-recognized as an expert Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner and is nationally-recognized for her research in perinatal loss. Dr. Hutti is a Fellow in the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.
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Dr. Joanne Cacciatore is a research professor studying traumatic grief at Arizona State University with nearly 70 published studies in top tier journals and directs the graduate Certificate in Trauma and Bereavement. In 1996, two years after the death of her baby daughter, Cheyenne, Dr. Cacciatore founded the MISS Foundation, an international NGO that aids families whose babies and older children die or are dying. The MISS Foundation has been serving families globally through support groups and forums, crisis and long term counseling, and through psychoeducation and professional training. In 2016 she founded Selah Carefarm, one of only three carefarms in the U.S. and the first carefarm in the world for traumatic grief. There, grieving families from around the world come to receive counseling, learn healthy coping, and help care for almost 40 animals (farm and domestic) rescued from torture, homelessness, and abuse. Personally, she has five children, four living, and is a meditation teacher. She practices ahimsa and has been a vegan since 1972. Her best-selling book, Bearing the Unbearable: Love, loss, and the heartbreaking path of grief, won the Indies Book of the Year Award and is available on Amazon.
Dr. Rana Limbo's 50+-year nursing career began at St. Olaf College, followed immediately by a master's in maternal child nursing from the Univ
Mandy experienced the death of their son Wyatt as a newborn and multiple miscarriages. The work, study, travel, and numerous other opportunities Mandy describes below have culminated in paintings and poetry, featured in the book Poems for Wyatt. Mandy received her degree in Studio Art and Literature from Rice University, where she attended on full scholarship. In 2001 she was awarded the Zhongua Fellowship, which allowed her to live and study in Guangzhou, China for a year, studying culture, watercolor, and textiles. Originally from Texas, she has worked in Austin costuming short films, and produced several fashion and art shows throughout New York and Texas. As a community leader, she has served on the Board of Managers for the International YMCA, the Friends of Maple Grove nonprofit, and the United Nations Association YP Group as the Asian Affairs Director. She currently serves on the board for Library For All, which provides educational content to students in impoverished countries. She has traveled throughout Asia, South America, Europe, Australia, and Africa painting and speaks Spanish, and limited Mandarin and Polish.