Empty Cradle, Broken Heart, Revised Edition: Surviving the Death of Your Baby [Paperback]

Ph.D. Deborah L. Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 13, 1996

The heartache of miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death affects thousands of U.S. families every year. Empty Cradle, Broken Heart offers reassurance to parents who struggle with anger, guilt, and despair after such tragedy. Deborah Davis encourages grieving and makes suggestions for coping. This book strives to cover many different kinds of loss, including information on issues such as the death of one or more babies from a multiple birth, pregnancy interruption, and the questioning of aggressive medical intervention. There is also a special chapter for fathers as well as a chapter on "protective parenting" to help anxious parents enjoy their precious living children. Doctors, nurses, relatives, friends, and other support persons can gain special insight. Most importantly, parents facing the death of a baby will find necessary support in this gentle guide. If reading this book moves you to cry, try to accept this reaction. Your tears merge with those of other grieving parents.

A purpose of this book is to let bereaved parents know that they are not alone in their grief. With factual information and the words and insights of other bereaved parents, you can establish realistic expectations for your grief. Empty Cradle, Broken Heart is meant to help you through these difficult experiences by giving you things to think about, providing suggestions for coping and encouraging you to do what you need to survive your baby's death. Whether your baby dies recently or long ago, this information can be useful to you.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Empty Cradle, Broken Heart is written with great awareness and sensitivity. Deborah Davis gets it just right." -Sheila Kitzinger, author of The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth

"...there is comfort in these pages." -Mothering magazine

"This gentle book fills a void often overlooked how it feels to lose a baby during or shortly after pregnancy." -Booklist

"Davis speaks directly to the emotional and physical needs of bereaved parents." -Judith Lasker, author of When Pregnancy Fails

"This book is a comprehensive resource for bereaved parents and the practitioners who help them." -THANATOS, A Realistic Journal Concerning Dying, Death and Bereavement

"As the mother of a stillborn son, I find this book to be the best I've found to date (and I've read at least 20!)." -J. Walter, Pennsylvania

"The best book on this subject. I did a huge amount of reading after I lost my baby, and I can tell you that this book is head and shoulders above anything else I've read on this subject. -A. Douglas, Canada

About the Author

Deborah L. Davis, Ph.D. is a developmental psychologist and writer who specializes in the emotional aspects of coping with crisis during pregnancy and infancy, and medical ethics and decision-making during pregnancy and in the NICU. She is the author of several books for bereaved parents and parents of premature babies and has written many articles for parents and professionals.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Fulcrum Publishing; Revised & enlarged edition (February 13, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555913024
• ISBN-13: 978-1555913021
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,510 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 60 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I could feel my heart lift like I never thought I would. August 16, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

before I read Empty Cradle, Broken Heart, I didn't think that I could ever lose any of the heaviness that enclosed my heart. I felt as if I gained membership into a private club and I could take comfort in knowing that I wasn't alone. It was the first time that I had a sane thought after losing our daughter Kara Jane Kaniewski - April 24, 1997. I still take out the book and reread passages that I have read over and over. The book still helps to relieve my heavy heart. I have given this book to 3 other women who have lost their children and each one has thanked me. Unfortunately the cost to get into this book club is priceless, for you have to have lost a child or known someone who has to gain admission. I want to thank Deborah L. Davis for her gift to me and my friends, for I would have surely been killed by the heaviness of my heart and the emptiness of my arms. Please read this book if you have experienced the loss of a child. You are not alone.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reading for grieving parents! March 30, 2000

By Jen Mountney

Format:Paperback

Empty Cradle, Broken Heart is an excellent resource for bereaved parents. Debra Davis takes parents step by step through the grieving process and helps them to realize that they are not alone in their pain. Reading Empty Cradle, Broken Heart helped me to recognize that my feelings were not strange and that it is okay to grieve for my daughter in my own way and in my own time. Chapters include: grieving and emotional recovery, painful feelings, affirming your baby, you and your partner, your family, and support networks. Debra encourages parents to realize that they did the best that they could for their baby. When you feel that no one understands the pain you are going through, read this book, it helps.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book that I've read December 23, 2001

By Jennifer Lawlor

Format:Paperback

Out of the dozens of books I read after losing my daughter prematurely, this was the one book that i couldn't put down till it was finished. It was so helpful to me and to my husband. It was nice reading other people's experiences too. I found this book so helpful that i will be donating copies to the hospital where our daughter was born so other grieving parents can have a copy of their own. It's a wonderful book...