The Second Jewish Perinatal Loss Summit
Perinatal loss is among the most painful and difficult losses a family can experience. Lives are shattered by a loss that can feel unimaginable, and families are often left to navigate their grief with too little guidance or support. Communities, too, may lack the knowledge and tools to offer meaningful support. These losses are too often compounded by stigma, uncertainty, and silence.
A recent landmark study by Jewish Theological Seminary student and Chaplain David Balto on Jewish approaches to spiritual care and perinatal loss identified several challenges facing families:
- limited community support
- stigma
- a lack of mourning resources
- uncertainty about halacha
- and insufficient support for creating meaningful mourning rituals.
While Jewish tradition offers strong frameworks for responding to many kinds of loss, these supports can be far less clear or accessible in the case of perinatal loss.
This four-part program will explore the realities families face after perinatal loss and help communities develop more compassionate, informed, and meaningful ways to respond.
Program is Online, 8:00pm – 9:30pm ET • 5:00pm – 6:30pm PT via Zoom.
There is no cost to the program.
The program will bring together clergy, chaplains, social workers, and parents who grapple with these issues. Our goal is to foster a dialogue and to provide resources for struggling individuals and families and the communities who support them.
Questions?
Contact David Balto at david.balto@dcantitrustlaw.com or 202-577-5424
Sponsorship and Registration Questions: Contact david.balto@dcantitrustlaw.com
Sessions
October 19, 2026
Pregnancy After Loss
Dvora Entin, LCSW, CST, PMH-C , Specialist in Reproductive and Perinatal Mental Health
Pregnancy after loss poses complex and challenging emotional issues. Even though the news is welcomed, your mind and body may remain alert to the possibility of something going wrong, making it difficult to feel calm or reassured—even when you receive good news and your pregnancy is progressing well. What are the variety of emotional challenges families face and how do we grapple with them?
Dealing with the both/and world of holding hope for the future baby while honoring and remembering the one that died.
October 26 , 2026
Creating Supportive Communities
Rabbi Steven Exler, The Bayit, Riverdale, New York
Rabbi Karen Perolman, Senior Associate Rabbi, Temple Beth Jeshurun
Rabbanit Alissa Thomas-Newborn, BCC, Director of Spiritual Care Studies at Gratz College, Rabbanit of Congregation Netivot Shalom, Chaplain at NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York
Families in the study reported feeling isolated and silenced by their losses. Perinatal loss can be especially difficult to talk about, and communities may feel uncertain about how to offer comfort and support. Three spiritual leaders who have grappled with these losses will offer practical ways to build communities where perinatal loss is met with greater understanding, openness, and care.
Through conversation and shared expertise, the panel will explore how to reduce silence and stigma, strengthen communal language and response, and help people feel more prepared to support families experiencing loss.
November 2, 2026
Termination for Medical Reasons (TFMR)
Dr. Julie Bindeman, Reproductive Psychologist, Integrative Therapy of Greater Washington
TFMRs are losses that are particularly emotionally nuanced and difficult to talk about with others. Making a TFMR decision is a uniquely traumatic circumstance and involves many considerations as well as potentially unknown information. The pain and trauma from TFMR endure long after the loss. This session will address how families grapple with these decisions and the grief that accompanies them.
November 9, 2026
Building Rituals for Memorialization
Laurie Chaimedes , Clinical Social Worker/Therapist, Woman’s Mental Health Consortium
One of the most important tasks for a family after perinatal loss can be finding ways to create an ongoing connection with their child. While resources to support families in creating these rituals remain limited, many families are developing meaningful and innovative forms of memorialization. This session will share families’ stories and explore tools for building rituals that honor a child’s life and create enduring connection.
Three families telling their story of memorialization.
Sponsored by
What Is Bikur Cholim?
Definition and History in a jewish context.
Resources
Educational materials from experienced individuals on various topics in visiting the sick.
National Jewish Healing Center contributes .5% of registration fees to carbon removal through Stripe Climate.
National Jewish Healing Center is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization (EIN: 99-4480062).