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14.10.2018
October 15: International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day
Monday October 15 is International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day.
On this day people from around the world are invited to take part in the “Global Wave of Light” by remembering all the babies who have died too soon. Light a candle at 7pm and keep it burning for at least one hour “in memory of all the babies who lit up our lives for such a short time”. Pregnancy and infant loss hits those affected by it hard. It is not something we usually think will happen. In fact pregnancy and welcoming an infant into our world is something we usually expect to be one of the more joyful life experiences to have. But it is more common than we like to think. We grieve not only the loss of the baby but our dreams of parenting that baby as well. Often there is uncertainty around the cause of death which leaves us confused, wondering if we did something wrong and worried about what it may mean about future pregnancies and births. We experience common grief reactions of confusion, anger, denial, emptiness. But we all grieve differently so we may not grieve in the same way as our partner. It can be difficult to gain support for our grief as friends and family can feel uncomfortable talking about this and sometimes if the loss happened early in pregnancy others may have not been told of the pregnancy. People who have experienced such grief often feel a need to talk about their loss and to remember the baby that was cherished and lost.We can help you with this by providing a safe place for you to explore the hopes and dreams you had for parenting the lost baby. We can also help with anxieties about future pregnancies if that is a concern for you. SANDS runs a National Support Line 24/7 365 days per week offering telephone counselling for those affected by pregnancy or infant loss on 1300 072 637.Linda BoyceBrilliant Minds PsychologyMonday, Wednesday and ThursdaysFacebookTwitterGoogle+ pinterest
