October is Infant/Pregnancy Loss Awareness Month
For years my heart has broken for friends and family that have suffered loss through miscarriage and stillbirth. I’ve known many who have said goodbye to their children much earlier than any parent should ever have to.
It wasn’t until last October that I began to understand the depth of that pain with Miranda’s 28 days and her too-soon death, and eight months later when we would lose a pregnancy in it’s first weeks.
I am blessed to have the ability to speak out loud and through my words here about the journey of grief that we are on. I am not afraid to say Miranda’s name or to share the story of her life and God’s hand in it all. Although my voice may shake, I can speak of death without fear or apology. However, it is only recently that pregnancy (miscarriage/stillbirth/neonatal) loss has been given mainstream attention.
For too many years families have suffered in silence because speaking of pregnancy loss was/is considered a social taboo.
During the month of October women are encouraged to break that silence. To speak the names of their gone-too-soon children and share of their losses.
Faces of Loss/Faces of Hope is an organization that gives women an opportunity to share their stories throughout the loss community and lend support to one another.
Carina Spencer is one of my favorite knitwear designers. Every October she donates the proceeds from the pattern sales of her Faraway, So Close shawl to an infant-loss support organization. This year she will make the donation to Share. She designed this shawl to comfort a dear friend after the death of her baby girl, as a hug she could send across the miles between them.
October 15th is a day of remembrance and across the globe bereaved families and friends will light a candle at 7PM (their time zone) as a symbolic Wave of Light for dearly missed babies.
CarlyMarie has blessed many families by writing their children’s names in the sand on the beach she has dedicated to honor her son Christian. This year she has also organized an online event called Capture Your Grief, a month-long photo challenge.
I am joining the challenge and hope to share an image with you each day that shares a bit of my journey. Carly has listed ideas for each day’s theme here. Today began with the prompt to capture the sunrise. I’m not an early riser and missed the sunrise, but I did head outside while the sun was still low to capture its rays illuminating the dew on our morning glory patch.
We just celebrated what would have been Miranda’s first birthday this past Saturday (I’ll share details in another post) and we are preparing to remember the day that we said goodbye to her at the end of October. I find comfort in knowing that during this difficult month there are people around the world remembering the lives of babies no longer with us.
Every life matters, no matter how long it is lived.
Did you already know about Infant Loss Awareness month before today? Do you know of other support networks or events going on this month? Please share with us.
**Capture Your Grief is a 31 day photo challenge created by CarlyMarie. For each day of the month during October (Pregnancy/Infant Loss Awareness) bereaved parents are encouraged to share their journey through photographs as a way to share the healing process. I am participating in this series and will resume sharing our homeschool journey, recipes, and life in general in November. Thank you for your thoughtful understanding while I share my heart this month.**
((Hugs)) Sis.. Thinking of you!!!