Above The Clouds: a loving way to look at perinatal loss.

Abstract

Above the clouds is a charity organisation in Belgium, founded in 2016, by Anneleen, midwife and photographer, and Sharon, photographer and bereaved mother of Nina*. Our goal: give all bereaved parents in Belgium beautiful memories of their deceased baby. More than 4500 babies have since been photographed.
 As a society we have lost the connection with death, although it is a key part of life. How can we look differently at mourning and loss and by doing so support bereaved parents and family and friends? What can we, as healthcare providers and human beings, do more to give parents who experience loss the best possible start in their mourning process? 
 Through real life stories we take the audience on a journey to change their view on mourning, loss and death. The importance of recognition, memories and the extremly hard but beautiful and important moment of saying goodbye. 
 The only way to heal our society in our way of looking at death and mourning, is creating awereness around the subject of perinatal loss and starting to look at it with different eyes from a loving point of view.