Did You Know?
- According to a 2004 National Vital Statistics Report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2000, 15.6% or 1,003,000 of the 6,401,000 pregnancies in the United States ended in either a miscarriage or stillbirth; the CDC also indicates that in 2003 the number of live births in the United States was 4,093,000; of those births, 27,500 ended in the death of an infant under the age of one.
October 15th is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day and as a girl in my thirties I have experienced both miscarriages and a stillbirth and they (collectively, 2 miscarriages, one stillborn daughter) were the hardest thing I have ever been through in my entire life. Emotionally difficult and physically terrifying and difficult. You never expect so much blood as when you miscarry, it is absolutely horrifying. Many women I know in their thirties have been affected directly by baby loss or one of their sisters or best friends have. When I lost my daughter my best friend, mom and husband were there when I delivered her and it was a truly life changing experience for all of us. It seems we all grew up a bit more in those short hours in the hospital where life was mixing with death so visibly.
A tip for anyone who is going through a miscarriage or stillbirth from one mama who has been there: FEEL it. Feel every single emotion you have daily. If you need to cry then cry. If you need to scream, scream your guts out and if you need to hit something do it. If you don’t grieve, your body will find destructive ways for you to handle it. Also for anyone who is close to a mama who has lost a baby just be there. If she doesn’t want to talk, that’s ok. Just be there. I remember sitting on the couch for hours, crying and crying, calling my mom who told me to just take it ‘minute by minute’ if I couldn’t deal with taking it day by day. Lucky for me I had an amazing support system. Bless all our angel babies, she changed my life for the better in her short time in my belly. xxxxoooHazel Mae Dymock
Today is the Wave of Light. Light a candle for all angel babies at 7pm YOUR TIME ZONE. What better way to honor those precious souls than to send glorious light to them?
For more information go to October15th.com
Guest Blogger: Meghan Dymock
Twitter: @Megdymock
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