Pregnancy
and Infant Loss Remembrance Day
Supporting
Families in Pain
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| "Forever Loved" candle created by Ronda Sternhagen of Grundy Center |
When you lose your parents you are called an
orphan. When you lose a spouse you are
called a widow or widower. When a parent
loses a child there is no word to describe them or the loss they’ve suffered.
October 15th is Pregnancy and Infant Loss
Remembrance Day. In October 1988
President Ronald Regan proclaimed October as Infant Loss Awareness Month. “This
month recognizes the loss so many parents experience across the United States
and around the world. It is meant also
to inform and provide resources for parents who have lost children due to
miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, still birth, birth defects,
SIDS and other causes.”
According to a 2004 National Vital Statistics Report
issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the year 2000
15.6% of all pregnancies in the U. S. ended in miscarriage or stillbirth. The
CDC also reports that in 2003 the number of live births in the U.S. was
4,093,000. Of these, 27,500 ended in the
death of the infant before the age of one.
Robyn Bear, founder of www.october15th.com,
recognized the need grieving families have to honor their loss and remember
their child in love. Knowing October is
Infant Loss Awareness month, she chose a date in the middle of the month to
establish as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. Robyn envisions a day when all grieving
families can come together and be surrounded by the love and support of family
and friends. She hopes this day can be a
time for communities to seek greater understanding of the pain of these losses
and learn how to reach out to those who are grieving the death of an
infant. This is a day to reflect on the
loss, but also a day to embrace the love of children whose lives were very
short, yet very meaningful.
Everyone is invited to participate in the October 15th
Wave of Light. All persons in every time
zone are encouraged to light a candle at 7 p.m. that evening and leave it lit
for at least one hour. This will create
a continuous wave of light around the entire world.
If you, or someone you know, has suffered this kind of loss, please honor the memory of their precious child/children by lighting a candle on Monday evening. Better still, send them a card or short note just letting them know you are thinking of them on Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day.
