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12 MayWECT TV News Report in NC

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WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – Doctors used to tell parents to avoid bonding with their babies if they weren’t going to survive, but now there’s a different thought. A group called Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep says it’s helping parents remember their baby as they should– as a member of their family.

The Foster family spent months preparing their toddler son Matthew for the arrival of his little brother, Jacob.

“We were worried about bringing a new baby and him not having enough time after that happened,” said Brian Foster.

So Brian and Heather Foster spent most of their time getting Matthew to understand he had a brother coming. He was very excited.

The night before Heather was supposed to be induced; Matthew pulled up her shirt and said, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jake.”

But, tomorrow was a day the family couldn’t wait to put in the past.

“There was no heartbeat,” said Heather. “And that was all there was to it.”

Jacob’s cord got wrapped around his neck. Heather was already in labor when doctors told her that there was no heartbeat.

“I can’t even explain what goes through you,” said Brian.

“Within 12 hours we went from expecting to go in and get a baby to arranging a funeral,” said Heather.

Brian said it was even more difficult because Jacob looked just like Matthew. “He was beautiful,” he said. “It was very tough.”   Read more…

Category(s): Grief Resources, Ideas for Remembering Your Child, Pregnancy Loss Resources

07 MayEvery Mother Counts

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This Mother’s Day, we ask you to take one action to help mothers everywhere. Go to the website EveryMotherCounts.org and learn about the documentary film called “No Woman, No Cry”.  In her gripping directorial debut, Christy Turlington Burns shares the powerful stories of at-risk pregnant women in four parts of the world, including a remote Maasai tribe in Tanzania, a slum of Bangladesh, a post-abortion care ward in Guatemala, and a prenatal clinic in the United States.  View the trailer below and click here for more information.

The film will air on the Oprah Winfrey OWN network this Mother’s Day, May 8, 2011. Please check local listings.

Category(s): Pregnancy Loss Films, Pregnancy Loss Resources

06 MayNational Infertility Association

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RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, established in 1974, is a non-profit organization with the only established, nationwide network mandated to promote reproductive health and to ensure equal access to all family building options for men and women experiencing infertility or other reproductive disorders.

RESOLVE improves the lives of women and men living with infertility.

One in eight U.S. couples of childbearing age is diagnosed with infertility. RESOLVE addresses this public health issue by providing community to these women and men, connecting them with others who can help, empowering them to find resolution and giving voice to their demands for access to all family building options.  Read more…

 

Category(s): Infertility

06 MayTCF’s Walk to Remember

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The Compassionate Friends Walk to Remember® is a highlight of every TCF National Conference. It was created as a symbolic way to show the love we carry for the children we mourn. Held at 8 a.m. Sunday on the final day of the national conference (July 17, 2011) it starts at the host hotel of the conference.  There is an air of excitement and anticipation as  everyone gathers in preparation for the start of the Walk. Finally the Walk begins and people walk hand- in-hand meditating on a much different time in their lives. Since its inception in 2000, the Walk to Remember has taken on many distinctive facets. There is the main Walk to Remember where those attending the conference join with local bereaved families and others who fly in from across the country just for the Walk.  As many as 1400 have participated. Some go the full distance while others only walk a short way knowing that in participating, they are remembering. Special Walk to Remember T-shirts are given to all who register, as well as walk bibs where the names of the children being remembered can be written.

In conjunction with the main walk, we encourage people across the country to send in the names of the children for whom they grieve to be carried in the walk. These are printed on 8 1/2″ X 11″ sheets of paper, placed in sheet protectors and carried by volunteers. Last year, more than 15,000 names are estimated to have been carried by those participating in the Walk to Remember.  Read more…

 

Category(s): Ideas for Remembering Your Child, Walk to Remember

05 MayStill Life 365

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still life 365 is a unique art project for, about and by mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles and friends who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth or infant death. still life 365 posts a piece of art every day by a poet, artist, photographer, crafter, musician, collagist, paper artist, filmmaker, painter, sculptor, fabric artist and ordinary person exploring grief through creativity. each piece is an expression of grief, survival, sadness, love and hope. still life 365 is intended to be a safe space for creative expression. still life 365 is open to anyone affected by pregnancy loss not simply parents.  Read more…

Category(s): Ideas for Remembering Your Child, Pregnancy Loss Resources

05 MayA Blog for Fathers When a Baby Dies

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Blog author, Tim Nelson writes…”My wife, Monica, and I suffered the full-term stillbirth of our second child, Kathleen. While that was a number of years ago, I have stayed connected to the issue through my writing and speaking on the topic of father’s grief following the death of an infant. I, like many men, had trouble talking about my feelings after my daughter’s death. I’m hoping this blog might be a place for dads to share their thoughts about what they are experiencing and find support from other dads.”  Read more…

Category(s): For Fathers, Grief Resources, Pregnancy Loss Resources
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04 MayHow a Fortune Cookie Can Heal Grief

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Did you ever think that a fortune cookie could offer a profound message of comfort, happiness, and peace in a life stressed by grief?  As one of the authors, Nan uses the simple fortune cookie to weave a modern parable of life and teach the value of attitude and choice in grief work. The fortune cookie demonstrates the concept of HOPE.

Sometimes we are so consumed by our grief that we fail to recognize hope happening in our lives and waiting to be discovered. This book teaches us not to dismiss the small acts of kindness that help us accept that though life may not be the same, it can be good again. Discover what you might be missing! Nan challenged individuals to participate in a project using the fortune cookie as the “tool.” The project offered Twelve Gifts of Hope that the bereaved can either receive from others or give to themselves. This book documents the proven results. Each of the Twelve Gifts of Hope is outlined in detail with suggestions that will appeal to everyone as they discover the power to heal their own grief.

To learn more, click here.

 

Category(s): Book Recommendations

02 MayFor Our Mothers

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Below is a poem written by Angie M. Yingst for Carly Marie Project Heal.  The poem is to celebrate ALL mothers, including those who are without their children.

 

Though I lose my petals

I am still a flower.

 

We grow together,

in a garden bed

of ash and tears,

heartbreak and love.

Whispered support blows

towards our delicate beauty,

crying nourishes our shared roots,

and the warmth of our compassion

heals the winter of our grief.

 

Though we have lost a petal,

we are still flowers,

lush and full together

in a garden of hope.

Category(s): Announcements

28 AprAbiding Hope Collages

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From the Abiding Hope Collage artist…

“When a baby leaves this earth, there will never be any new photos to add to a scrapbook or any new milestones to frame. The keepsakes the parents and loved ones may have are few and dearly treasured. By creating these collages, it is my hope to be able to create a treasured keepsake and help the family tell their child’s story.”

To request a Hope collage, click here…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Category(s): Ideas for Remembering Your Child

28 AprSeven Most Common Miscarriage Causes

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Early pregnancy loss is so common that many obstetricians consider these miscarriages a normal part of reproduction. That doesn’t make the loss any easier. Learn about the seven most common miscarriage causes, and how to increase your chances for a healthy pregnancy.

A few months after my first child was born, I wanted to be pregnant again—as soon as possible. I wanted my children to be close in age, the closer the better, and when my son was 13 months old, I got my wish and discovered I was pregnant.

But before I even had a chance to share the news with my husband (he was traveling out of the country), I miscarried. I was only five weeks pregnant. Truth be told if we hadn’t been trying to conceive, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed that my period was late—and so I was surprised by how sharply I felt the loss. My obstetrician’s observations that I was in good company—that around 15 percent of “known” pregnancies (i.e., pregnancies confirmed with a test), and up to half of all pregnancies end in miscarriage during the first trimester—didn’t soothe my sadness. Nor did his assurance that the miscarriage wasn’t caused by something I had done, or hadn’t done, that it was “just one of those things.” But I was comforted when I considered the other statistic: that most of the time miscarriage is a one-time occurrence.

If you have had a miscarriage, chances are you want to know what caused it, and what you can do to prevent it from happening again. For starters, relax. “Since you got pregnant once, the odds are 80 percent that you will go on to have a healthy baby, and as many healthy babies after that as you want,” says Henry Lerner, MD, clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Harvard Medical School and author of Miscarriage: Why it Happens and How Best to Reduce Your Risks (Perseus Book Group, 2003). Next, accept that you may never know why you miscarried. “The majority of the time miscarriage is a random, isolated event and we can’t pinpoint a cause,” he says. Women who go on to have two or three miscarriages (called recurrent miscarriage) may ultimately learn they have a medical problem that is causing their pregnancies to end spontaneously, but even with recurrent miscarriage, half the time there is no known cause.  Read more…

Category(s): Miscarriages, Pregnancy Loss Resources
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