who we are/accolades/contributions

The two women looking for answers to miscarriage in 1985, who formed our group, would never have thought that our small non-profit, incorporated society would still be needed in this century but we obviously are, from the information we get in feed back and the over 300,000 contacts we have had this year (2007) alone. The annual numbers increase not decrease. Most of that figure is from the internet and includes emails, our bulletin board (60,000 viewers and postings) and website (230,000) viewers and the rest of the figures are our pamphlets (23,000), Supportline calls and speech requests.

Miscarriage Support Auckland Inc. is still a very small independent group of women volunteers of various ages and we have all experienced the loss of our own babies and would like to provide emotional support and information for women and their families during and after miscarriage and subsequent pregnancies.

While recognising that everybody's experience is unique, we understand the pain and isolation that often follows miscarriage and the need for emotional support. Our website is a reflection of our knowledge and experience and will hopefully be useful in helping you come to terms with your grief.

There are now ten miscarriage groups nation-wide in NZ (see ‘Resources’) and they all operate separately and differently. Some are dedicated to miscarriage, others offer miscarriage support as well as other services e.g. In Christchurch, miscarriage is a part of Sands (Stillbirth and New-born Death Support). We are the main group and offer others support, supply pamphlets and run the miscarriage website.

We are not supported by our government or any large body. Our books are audited annually and we spend our money on the basics such as phone/internet, power, specialist services (computer), small co-ordinator’s salary, advertising, pamphlet print runs, minimum administration and small volunteer expenses.

Our office is run from home so we do not have rental costs. We manage on funding from very limited and currently ever restricting sources, which we have to apply for along with thousands of other groups each year. We continually wonder if we will survive. 

Recently a businessman suggested we ask for help online and he feels that donations and endowments are the answer. As we are basically givers, not takers, and of a generation that were brought up to take care of ourselves, asking is quite difficult for us. It is a bit easier to ask on behalf of others. If you feel that miscarrying women deserve to have us around still, and if you wish to and can afford it, may we please request that you support us with any amount you feel you can. It does not matter how much it is. We will be grateful and so appreciate it. If you feel comfortable with it, please let us have your contact information so we can acknowledge and thank you personally.

Knowing that women and men do support us to support others, makes a difference to us too.

As our website and bulletin board are our largest avenues of communication, interaction is mainly impersonal, so when we do receive recognition by an accolade or donation, we get the ‘feel good’ feeling we all need to continue.
Your contribution reassures us that our commitment is worthwhile.

Thank you.
Kind regards and take care,
Vonney Allan,
President.

If you have found this site helpful and you would like to support us to continue our work helping others, your donation using a credit card via PayPal or a mailed cheque, will enable this site to continue and make a difference. We will be really grateful for your contribution. Thank you.

our aims

• To provide emotional and psychological peer support for women and their families during and after miscarriage and also subsequent pregnancies, offering them suggestions to help with healing, rather than rescue them, and giving them hope for the future.
• To promote understanding in the community about the consequences of miscarriage and the resulting grief for women and their families
• To help achieve a greater level of understanding on the part of health professionals about the psychological consequences of miscarriage on their patients, so they do not minimize or invalidate their patients’ feelings.
• To act as advocate
• To promote a more appropriate name that would better describe and validate our feelings such as 'premature stillbirth'. (As a group we feel the word 'miscarriage' does not adequately or sensitively describe what is often the trauma associated with an early pregnancy death. What we experienced was both a birth and a death.)
• To order information about setting up a new support group in your area.

Download the 2 sided, A4 pamphlet 'Understanding Miscarriage' which provides a synopsis of this website suitable for lay readers. You will need Acrobat reader to view this PDF.




contact details

Postal address: Miscarriage Support Auckland Inc,
P.O. Box 14 7011 Ponsonby, 1144 Auckland, New Zealand.
Office phone and fax: (09) 360 4034

email: Vonney provides email support. (Before contacting us, please go through the site thoroughly as most information is at your fingertips.)

NZ Forum: share your thoughts on our forum (NZ only)

Supportline: (09) 378 4060 (NZ only)

Support groups: find the group nearest to you (NZ only)

www.AskAnOb.com: gives further medical information and unlimited
personalised email answers are offered for $29.95 US, if you do not have a lead maternity carer. (We have no access to a medical professional.)

We are very grateful for the continuing support of the following organisations.