Pregnant with her third child, she was conducting a series of interviews聽as research for聽the play, , on loss and how it is transformed, when she lost her son Ethan. 鈥淚 was just struck by how I was immersed in this phenomena and living it at the same time,鈥� she says. I'm Still Here was co-created with 91亚色 nursing Professor Gail Mitchell and playwright Vrenia Ivonoffski.

Right: Christine Jonas-Simpson, holding the children's book she wrote, Ethan's Butterflies

Ethan was stillborn at 38 weeks 鈥� or, as Jonas-Simpson prefers to say, born still 鈥� causing a rent in the universe as she knew it. After the loud silence of her delivery, she remembers hearing a primal scream of agony, realizing some moments later it was coming from her.

Almost a decade later, Jonas-Simpson is about to premiere her third research-based documentary film, about how mothers and their families live with the loss of a child. The premiere will take place Sunday, May 15, from 1 to 3:30pm at the Fox Theatre, 2236 Queen St. E. in Toronto. Tickets are $25 per ticket with proceeds going to Bereaved Families of Ontario-Toronto. To buy tickets, call 416-440-0290 or e-mail info@bfotoronto.ca.

Enduring Love looks at the lives of four women, the agony of loss, the impact the death of their infant has had on them and their families and聽how they learned to live with their loss. It also traces聽the importance of recognizing their other children are also grieving, the continuing presence of their deceased child in their lives, the rituals they鈥檝e developed and how they not only endured but have been transformed by their loss. Funded by聽91亚色's聽Faculty of Health and the Health Leadership & Learning Network: Interprofessional Education Initiative Fund, the documentary answers the research question, what is the meaning of living and transforming with loss for mothers who experience the loss of their baby?

As one woman in the film says of her family, it was a 鈥渟eminal event in their lives鈥�; there was a before and an after. The women make the point that many fail to realize that losing their baby, whether at 24 weeks gestation or several weeks after delivery, is a profoundly felt loss that changes, not only them, but their husbands and their children, forever. One of the universally hard moments for these women was going home from the hospital without their baby. It feels so unnatural, says Jonas-Simpson.

It was the experience of losing her own son that guided Jonas-Simpson鈥檚 research toward providing a body of arts-based research for others who experienced perinatal loss. She had often used music in her nursing practice and research, and then began incorporating art, drama聽and film. 鈥淲ith grieving and loss it seemed appropriate to keep going with the arts.鈥� Although, she聽will write papers on her latest research, she believes presenting her findings with an art-based approach makes it more accessible and touches people in a way a research paper in a journal wouldn鈥檛. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a way of showing the human experience, rather than just telling,鈥� she says.

Being a researcher, I looked at the literature to see what was out there. I was struck by how little there was out there in light of grieving and loss聽about mothers鈥� lived experiences. My graduate student, Jennifer Noseworthy, and I are conducting a comprehensive literature review and we鈥檝e only found a few qualitative studies focused on the human lived experience of perinatal loss.鈥� And that moved Jonas-Simpson to conduct research and create resources for others like her.

Enduring Love is her third film. Her first was , while her second, is a short made from footage shot for聽Enduring Love, which focuses on the surviving children. 鈥淭hese children have an incredible bond and relationship with the babies,鈥� their siblings who鈥檝e died. Jonas-Simpson recently gave a talk and showed Why Did Baby Die? at a聽Women's Health and Mental Wellbeing Speakers Series聽event at 91亚色.

Some of the children, as seen in Enduring Love, have drawn family portraits years later that have included their deceased siblings. 鈥淕rieving and loss isn鈥檛 always something we talk about openly, but it is experienced by many, if not all, of us,鈥� says Jonas-Simpson. Even after the physical death, the relationship continues. 鈥淚t鈥檚 still hidden. Perinatal loss is also disenfranchised in our society.鈥� To help grieving children with the loss of a baby sibling, she also wrote the children's book .

Jonas-Simpson started talking about her own experience of losing Ethan, born with vibrant red locks, and how her other two sons, now 11 and 13, have integrated him into their lives as a way to help others. 鈥淭he children integrate this loss very well,鈥� she says. One of her children even wrote a letter to Ethan as a school assignment, asking if there are dinosaurs in heaven and if it hurt to die. The teacher may have been uncomfortable, but Jonas-Simpson says it鈥檚 important to talk about and to understand the continuing relationship following death.

Next, she is hoping to do research on children age three to 18 who are grieving a loss of a baby sibling. Children, she says, are often forgotten about, but they too grieve. 鈥淚f we can be more open about grief and loss as a natural human experience and if we can begin in the schools with that,鈥� it could be really helpful for the children, she says. She would also like to explore the common and聽unique threads of grieving around the world.

For more information or to view or buy Jonas-Simpson鈥檚 films, visit the Faculty of Health鈥檚 Living and Transforming with Perinatal Loss website.

By Sandra McLean, YFile writer

Republished courtesy of YFile 鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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Two 91亚色 nursing professors have won provincial awards for innovative and excellent teaching.

At its fourth annual awards ceremony Saturday, the (COUPN) presented Patricia Bradley with the Teaching Innovation Award and Christine Jonas-Simpson with the Excellence in Teaching Award.

Above: 91亚色 nursing Professors Christine Jonas-Simpson (left) and Pat Bradley

The awards are presented each year to nursing faculty, students, staff and health program partners from across the province who have made outstanding contributions to nursing education. Nominations are made by students, staff and faculty members of the province鈥檚 nursing programs. COUPN presented 10 awards this year.

Bradley, coordinator of 91亚色鈥檚 Internationally Educated Nurses Program, joined 91亚色鈥檚 School of Nursing in 2007 and brings decades of experience to her teaching. She won recognition for her innovative use of multimedia and online tools to help her students succeed.

鈥淒r. Bradley is always thinking, teaching and learning,鈥� wrote Andria Phillips, a graduate student whom Bradley supervised in a teaching practicum, in her citation. 鈥淲hether it鈥檚 linking thoughts to pop culture, [asking] if changes can be made to improve the situation, offering guidance in finding solutions or linking your issue to current issues/best practices, she always has something new and interesting to offer to a conversation.鈥�

Bradley 鈥渉as made exceptional contributions in the classroom, to student supervision and to the overall teaching culture in the School of Nursing and the Faculty of Health,鈥� wrote her nominator, Professor Karin Page-Cutrara, undergraduate program director in 91亚色鈥檚 School of Nursing. 鈥淗er pedagogical practices in online environments that support graduate student engagement, learning and success, and her innovative programming devised to assist undergraduate students in writing the Canadian Registered Nurses Examination are of particular note.鈥� Page-Cutrara also cited among Bradley鈥檚 teaching-related contributions her participation in the Faculty of Health鈥檚 Health, Leadership & Learning Network, research at 91亚色, and national and international conferences.

Jonas-Simpson, who has taught undergraduate and graduate nursing courses at 91亚色 since 2007, was recognized for demonstrating excellence and making consistent efforts to propel the critical-thinking abilities of her students.

鈥淚 can confidently say that as an educator, Professor Jonas-Simpson has had the most significant and lasting impact towards my development as a professional nurse,鈥� wrote undergraduate Catherine Valle in the citation. 鈥淪he has the incredible ability to create a learning environment that is innovative, supportive and inspiring. [She] inspires her students through her lived experiences of nursing while connecting them to the theoretical foundations of the course.鈥�

Colleagues also recognized Jonas-Simpson鈥檚 passion and dedication to enhancing nursing education. Professor Ros Woodhouse, academic director of the Centre for the Support of Teaching, wrote: 鈥淚 have worked with individuals, groups and programs in health and health professional education for over 15 years (at the University of Toronto, Queen鈥檚 University and 91亚色). In my experience, Dr. Jonas-Simpson demonstrates outstanding commitment to her students鈥� learning and excellence in every aspect of her teaching.鈥�

By Rebecca Bitton, work-study communications assistant, Faculty of Health

Republished courtesy of YFile 鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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When Christine Jonas-Simpson鈥檚 son Ethan was born, there was an eerie quiet in the delivery room, and then a piercing wail, wrote .

鈥淭he only cry I heard was my own,鈥� she said somberly.

Ethan was dead, 鈥渂orn still鈥� in the language of grieving parents; 鈥渟tillborn鈥� in the medical vernacular. The umbilical cord was constricted, essentially suffocating the baby in the womb, a condition impossible to detect with an ultrasound.

Jonas-Simpson, who was almost 38 weeks pregnant, knew her son was dead before she went into labour. When he was born, she held Ethan in her arms, stroking his shock of curly red hair. So did her husband.

The nurses were wonderfully supportive, even explaining to Ethan鈥檚 young siblings how his air tube was broken, something that could happen to an astronaut. The family was able to mourn on their terms.

(Jonas-Simpson, a professor of nursing at 91亚色 [Faculty of Health], published a children鈥檚 book, , and produced a series of research papers and documentaries on stillbirth, the latest of which, Enduring Love: Transforming Loss, will .)

[You can also watch the channel.]

Unlike Ethan, most babies born still are quickly 鈥渄isposed of鈥� without being held, named or given a funeral. In much of the world, reproduction is central to a woman鈥檚 purpose, so there is profound stigma, and no small measure of blame falls on the mother when childbirth fails to produce a living child.

Newly published data show there are more than 2.6 million stillbirths worldwide each year. The deaths remain largely uncounted, the mothers unsupported and preventive measures understudied.

It is an epidemic 鈥� one that claims more lives each year than HIV-AIDS and malaria combined 鈥� that quietly unfolds far from the public eye.

The Lancet, in its Thursday edition, has published that aim to shatter the silence by examining the staggering toll of stillbirth 鈥� emotional, physical and economic 鈥� and proposing practical solutions.

A stillbirth, as defined by the World Health Organization, is one in which a baby dies after reaching at least 28 weeks gestation and weighing at least 1,000 grams. In a country like Canada with advanced medical care, it is 22 weeks at 500 grams. (Loss of a fetus before that time is considered a miscarriage or, if the pregnancy is terminated, an abortion.)

There is a common belief that babies who die in utero were never meant to live. Stillbirths have been seen as a form of natural selection, bad luck, the result of witchcraft 鈥� lame 17th-century explanations for a lingering 21st-century scourge.

The other myth is that most stillbirths occur early in the pregnancy. In fact, the opposite is true: The longer the gestation, the higher the risk.

The vast majority of stillbirths are preventable.

In wealthy countries like Canada, where high-tech obstetrics are the norm, stillbirths are linked to smoking, obesity, advanced maternal age, and abnormalities in the placenta and umbilical cord.

J0nas-Simpson's research was also covered by in a story about the prevalence and impact of stillbirths among Inuit communities.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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Throughout November, the Vari Hall Rotunda will play host to displays and demonstrations featuring our faculty and graduate researchers. Drop by between 10 am and 2 pm each Wednesday to learn what 91亚色's researchers are doing.

The Research Month index on 91亚色's Research website contains complete information about the researchers, research centres and research support groups participating in the event.

Social sciences and humanities research 鈥� Nov. 3

Confirmed participants include:

• Institute for Science聽& Technology Studies
• 91亚色 Centre for Education聽& Community

Science and engineering research 鈥� Nov. 10

Confirmed participants include:

Health research 鈥� Nov.17

Confirmed participants include:

• Professor Joseph DeSouza, Faculty of Health, Department of Psychology
• Professor , Faculty of Health, School of Nursing
• Professor Jennifer Kuk, Faculty of Health, School of Kinesiology & Health Science
• Professor Gail Mitchell, Faculty of Health, School of Nursing
• Professor Jennine Rawana, Faculty of Health, Department of Psychology
• Professor Rose Steele, Faculty of Health, School of Nursing
• LaMarsh Centre for Research on Violence聽& Conflict Resolution
• 91亚色 Institute for Health Research

Fine and performing arts research 鈥� Nov. 24

Confirmed participants include:

Want to participate?

Do you have completed works, prototypes, technology, or works in progress that you could demonstrate? Do you have graduate/undergraduate students working with you who could assist and help talk about the work? If you have other ideas, we would love to hear about them.

Interested faculty members or research centres should contact Elizabeth Monier-Williams in the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation at ext. 21069 or eamw@yorku.ca. Please note that space is limited and allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Other research-related events

These research-related events will also be running in November:

• Nov. 6 鈥� , featuring Professor Poonam Puri聽from聽Osgoode Hall Law School and Professor Steven Gaetz聽from the Faculty of Education among other speakers.
• Nov. 10 鈥� Toward a Behavioral Neuroscience of Parenting, sponsored by the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Health.
• Nov. 24 & 25 鈥� at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (by invitation only).
• Nov. 26 鈥� Campus visit from Suzanne Fortier, president of the .
• Nov. 30 鈥� Campus visit from David Malone, president of .

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer

The post November is Research Month: 91亚色 celebrates with a series of events appeared first on Research & Innovation.