Yale-New Haven Pilots Internet Access for Women Who Suffer Neonatal Loss

March 25, 1998

The World Wide Web has become more accessible to a special audience of women through the efforts of a poetry-writing obstetrician at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Since he started the Hygeia website in January 1996, Dr. Michael R. Berman knew he wanted as many women as possible to have access to the information and resources for those women who have had a miscarriage or a newborn who died shortly after birth. Beginning this week, an interactive kiosk called Caring/Hygeia located in the Women’s Center at Yale-New Haven Hospital will make Hygeia available to underserved women who do not have their own computer at home or who do not have familiarity with computers.

In the two years since Hygeia began, 32,000 visitors have read or contributed the poems, letters and other resource information on the site. Some 1,600 women have also used the "grieving and sharing" area where private queries can be made and users can register to communicate their experiences and feelings with others. Each year in the U.S. alone, there are more than 500,000 pregnancy losses.

"I’ve been concerned that there is a lack of access to the Internet beyond the typical user profile of mostly higher income people who are usually male," Dr. Berman said. "Women and their families of all backgrounds who have a miscarriage, or otherwise lose a baby during pregnancy and after birth, will grieve and I want to give them the opportunity to have this resource available."

Dr. Berman has presented the Caring/Hygeia concept to Grand Rounds meetings at hospitals throughout the United States and the website has been recognized by the computer industry several times for its innovation and ease of use.

The response from women who have visited the Hygeia site has also been positive: "Thank you for creating such a special place for those of us who have experienced pregnancy loss," one woman wrote. "I do not believe the general public realizes the severity of our pain...Being able to communicate with other women who know the kind of pain I am feeling has been the greatest source of support."

One of Dr. Berman’s patients, Beth Cheney of Columbia, Conn., lost a pregnancy three years ago and found the Hygeia website helpful. "Initially afterward, there was a lot of support around me," she recalled. "Later on I realized that I had a lot of feelings of grief and didn’t know what to do. Through Hygeia I shared stories with other people. It’s all part of the healing process to be table to talk with others. It’s also important to know there is support available."

To expand the Hygeia concept and make it more accessible, Dr. Berman established The Hygeia Foundation, Inc., which will establish networks and collaboration among medical professionals, medical schools, hospitals and support services in order to assist underserved women who experience miscarriages or loss of a baby after birth. The foundation will seek funds and grants from private and public sources.

The Yale-New Haven Hospital pilot kiosk was the result of a collaboration with Corometrics Medical Systems of Wallingford, Conn., which develops fetal and neonatal intensive care monitoring equipment.

Dr. Berman said he has been working with other hospitals to establish more Caring/Hygeia kiosks, with discussions underway in St. Louis.

Hygeia is named for the Greek goddess of health, Dr. Berman said.

Contact: Ken Best (203) 688-2488