Archive for Miscarriage
March 13, 2008 at 6:10 pm · Filed under Grief, Miscarriage
Ever since all the e-card nightmares where scammers were sending emails saying “You have a greeting card from a friend” but it was really just phishing for your private information, I’ve wondered about the e-cards I’ve offered for a long time to give women who have had a miscarriage, and if anyone uses them any more.
Recently I discovered Red Bubble, which is an online art company where artists can offer their works to the public. I love it there. It’s such a neat community.
But mainly I wanted to create greeting cards for people to give someone who has suffered a loss, one especially that would be a keepsake, since we all know how few of those we get. So I finally did. And it’s up. I put it on Red Bubble because they are the least espensive as well. I could offer it to pretty close to what you could buy a nice card in a store for.
Anyway, hopefully it will be one more thing that raises awareness, and helps.
You can see it here.
Deanna’s Card
January 25, 2008 at 11:44 am · Filed under Miscarriage
I’m sorry that my site has been experiencing some troubles. I have a hacker going after me and deleting it daily. I’m working on closing up any holes.
I’ve very sorry for this. I’m doing the best I can!
October 15, 2007 at 9:50 pm · Filed under Deanna\'s Story, Grief, Miscarriage, Remembrance Day
I’m so pleased that so many new Mamas learned about Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day and participated. Some went well above and beyond to notify local news media and get the word out in earnest.
Tomorrow I’ll put the site back in its usual configuration, which is to place Frequently Asked Questions right here front and first-read, but for one more day we’ll think about what this candle lighting means and the day we got to stop and revisit our loss, spend time with our babies, and let the grief flow.
Today I got to tell Emily and Elizabeth about the babies who died in Mama’s tummy, and Emily started to understand. (Elizabeth still thought lighting the floating candles and setting them out in Town Lake was “great fun.”)
I’ll leave you with the image of us here in Austin, lighting our candles on this special day for our babies.
October 8, 2007 at 1:26 pm · Filed under Miscarriage, Remembrance Day
A few years ago, a very dedicated mama enlisted some friends and set out to get Oct. 15 declared Pregnancy Loss Remembrance Day in all 50 states of the U.S.
She succeeded.
As the day approaches, I encourage everyone to light a candle for your baby at 7 p.m. local time to create the “Continuous Wave of Light” around the world to honor our babies.
Update: I am so IMPRESSED by some of you Mamas out there who are calling/emailing radio stations to ask them to announce the candle lighting on Monday. You ladies are awesome! Go proud Mamas!
Here are some words from Robyn Bear, the founder of Pregnancy Loss Remembrance Day.
In October 1988, President Ronald Reagan Proclaimed October as National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. “When a child loses his parent, they are called an orphan. When a spouse loses her or his partner, they are called a widow or widower. When parents lose their child, there isn’t a word to describe them.”
This month recognizes the loss so many parents experience across the United States and around the world. It is also meant to inform and provide resources for parents who have lost children due to miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, stillbirths, birth defects, SIDS, and other causes.”
Robyn Bear, founder of www.october15th.com envisioned a day when all grieving parents could come together and be surrounded by love and support from their friends and families, a day where the community could better understand their pain and learn how to reach out to those grieving. This would be a day to reflect on the loss yet embrace the love. While our babies’ lives where so brief, they were also very meaningful. Yet, there was not a time to talk about them. Our society seemed to forget or perhaps, simply didn’t know how to reach out. Since October had been proclaimed “Awareness Month”, she chose a day, in the middle of the month to become, “Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day”. We are asking everyone in all times zones, worldwide, to join us in a candle lighting ceremony at 7pm on October 15th. For more information, please visit http://www.october15th.com
Ideas for October 15th
- Light candles and display them in your windows.
- Contact local Radio and News stations and have them announce that it is October 15th, Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day.
- Drive with your headlights on. Also, ask that radio and news stations announce this as well.
- Leave your porch lights on. Have radio and news stations announce this as well.
- Release butterflies (Can be expensive, but is very beautiful, Use a search engine such as yahoo and type in butterfly release)
- Release Doves (You can rent doves that are trained to fly back to the owner)
- Sponsor a candle lighting ceremony in a park, church, or local hospital.
- Send off a pink or blue balloon with your Angel’s name and/or picture. (Warning Please: If you do this, only send one balloon per child. This is very dangerous for birds and wildlife. The animals can eat the remnants of a balloon and die) (As beautiful and wonderful as it is, I can’t personally recommend it due to my love for animals)
Ideas for all of the Month of October
- Tying pink or blue ribbons around trees in yards, neighborhoods, and parks.
- Place signs and banners in your yard, neighborhoods, and parks.
- Contact your local radio stations and television news stations to have them announce that October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month.
- Write an article and submit it to your local newspapers.
- Sponsor flowers in memory of your baby in a church service or hospital.
- Have a t-shirt made that says I have an Angel, and have your child’s name put on it.
Our Mission Statement To diligently work with local, state and national leaders to obtain a National Day of Remembrance recognizing the need for community education and awareness when a family loses a child to miscarriage, stillbirth, and/or neonatal death. While promoting the need for openness, understanding and compassion during a family’s time of grief and most importantly, allowing those who wish, to remember these children who we now hold dear.
Goals of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day
To have information and support available to families who suffer from pregnancy and infant loss, to help them cope.
- To inform and educate the public about pregnancy and infant loss so they can better learn how to respond with compassion to affected families.
- To enable professionals, physicians, clergy, emergency medical technicians, funeral directors, police officers, public health nurses, and employers, to better serve families if they have special training and better knowledge of pregnancy and infant loss.
- To set aside a day to remember all pregnancies and infants lost in order to heal and be comforted in a time of pain and heartache, and to have hope for the future.
Objectives:
- Encourage Doctor’s offices, Churches, Hospitals, Funeral Homes, etc. to give to patients at the time of their loss pamphlets that would include books, websites, persons to contact, local and national support groups, resource centers.
- Inform parents of their rights at time of loss; burial, cremation, naming the child.
- Promote Public speaking outline for parents wanting to share their loss.
- A list “Do’s and Don’ts” for well meaning family and friends.
- Encourage media to feature stories on perinatal loss and the healing involved.
- Network with National and Local Organizations.
- Talk to professionals; find out how they deal with feelings related to loss in their work. Explain to them how critical their care and compassion is during this time.
- Develop presentation to H. R. departments for information sessions on this type of bereavement.
- Have October 15th leaders be liaison for those wanting to plan/attend services in their state. An outline will be developed and available on the website.
- Encourage community activities, outreach.
- Give parents one day to openly remember, as parents NEVER forget.
- Provide this healing opportunity so that families can look towards the future.
Why have a day of remembrance for Pregnancy and Infant Loss?
Because EVERY life, even the tiniest and shortest lived deserves to be acknowledged and remembered. The parents of these children never forget, we would just like one day of the year for everyone else to remember then too.
July 21, 2007 at 8:41 am · Filed under Miscarriage
About a year ago, I redesigned this site. I wanted to create the most beautiful ever image of an infant lying on a cloud as an angel, but I didn’t have just the right baby yet–one small and fragile and gently sleeping–to represent our lost babies.
In March, some dear friends of mine gave birth to twins after many many years of trying to conceive. We were all so thrilled for them.
They came for images when the babies were still only a few weeks old, and baby Corey was so tiny (born at 5 pounds) and curled up that I knew she would make the perfect angel image. I gently asked my friends if I could use her, and they agreed.
The little girls grew over the months and on the Fourth of July, they sent out the cutest little patriotic shots of the twins in their holiday duds.
On July 5, about the time many of us were looking at those images of the girls, the twins’ wonderful and caring in-home babysitter laid them down for their nap.
Baby Corey never woke up. After an autopsy and toxicology report, they could find no cause of death, so she was ruled as one of the 2200 SIDS deaths that happen each year in the US.
Her parents have lovingly agreed all the more that she is just the baby to serve as our ambassador, our sweet respresentative, here to guide our lost babies from this world into the next. I will be incorporating her into the Facts about Miscarriage Site as I make changes.
Rest well, sweet Corey.
March-July, 2007
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