Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Week

"A person is a person no matter how small"

- Dr Suess

This week is baby loss awareness week (9th – 15th October).  Baby Loss awareness week is held across the world for parents, friends and family to acknowledge and remember all the little babies who have died before they got to experience life.

As well as bringing awareness,  it is also an opportunity to break the silence on this still taboo subject of pregnancy and infant loss.  It’s a chance for people to talk openly about the subject of and raise awareness of baby loss and pregnancy loss.

Pregnancy and infant loss is the unbearable heartache for 1 in 4 parents in Australia every single day.  That’s a frightening statistic, yet it is something that is rarely discussed. Lets help break the silence. Every baby loss is someone’s much wanted baby.  We imagine that baby loss, is an uncommon occurrence, but it happens every day, and chances are it has happened to someone you know and love. Regardless of that baby’s age,  parents who have experienced their loss of their much wanted baby,  have lost their hopes and dreams for their little one.

Many years ago, women were told to go home and forget about the child that died. It was brushed under the carpet, never to be spoken off again.

Thankfully we have come along way.Organisations such as Heartfelt and Cuddle cots provide grieving parents priceless memories and an opportunity to spend time with their baby.

For the last 3 years, I have worked with many families who have had to bear the unbearable loss of their much loved precious babies.   A funeral can be a very important and meaningful way to share in grief and say goodbye.

It can be hard to know what to say or do if someone you love has lost a child.

If you know someone who has experienced infant loss, don’t be afraid to say their child’s name. And allowing them the freedom to grieve and express themselves openly, in whatever way is best for them, will be the best gift you can ever give.

Remembering all the beautiful babies whom I have had the privilege of honouring.

Sleep tight little ones...