Grieving and finding hope after pregnancy and infant loss
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Remembering the little ones we've lost. Photo: Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Foundation
Families around the world will light candles at 7pm local time Sunday as part of the global Wave of Light event honoring babies who have died during pregnancy or infancy.
Driving the news: October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month.
Why it matters: Losing a child to stillbirth, miscarriage or other causes during pregnancy or infancy is a devastating blow to hundreds of thousands of families each year in the United States.
💠My thought bubble: I know this because I lost my daughter, Eloise, to stillbirth (the loss of a baby at or after 20 weeks of pregnancy) eight years ago.
Flashback: Eloise's mother and I were reveling in the joy that a first pregnancy brings when the unthinkable happened.
- Unable to feel our daughter's movements, we went to the hospital, where we learned that she had died in the womb at 34 weeks and 3 days.
- On June 25, 2015, we welcomed our beautiful girl into this world, spending as much time with her as we could before saying goodbye.
By the numbers: Roughly 21,000 babies are stillborn each year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Meanwhile, 3,400 sudden unexpected infant deaths occur in the U.S. each year, per the CDC.
- The National Library of Medicine estimates that 26% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage.
Zoom in: The infant mortality rate (death before a first birthday) in Ohio was 7.06 per 1,000 live births in 2021, the latest year the CDC has statistics on.
- That was the eighth-most of any state.
Be kind: This month is a time to reach out to anyone you know who has lost a child during pregnancy or infancy.
- You can also support various charities, including Pregnancy After Loss Support, Count the Kicks and the Star Legacy Foundation, to name a few.
The bottom line: I am blessed to have three healthy sons, but Eloise will always have a special place in my heart.
- We honor her in hopes of raising awareness and extending support to anyone going through the same thing.