UPDATED 6/22/2021
July is annually recognized as Bereaved Parents Awareness Month, a month dedicated to raising awareness of the support necessary when one endures the loss of a child. Over the years we have had the bittersweet pleasure to feature the heartfelt words of parents who have walked this path and shared their story so others will feel less alone. Here is a collection of those stories.
If you are a parent who has lost a baby, wherever you are in your grief, we want you to know that you are not alone. There is a community of families ready to support you, whether it is today, a month from today, or a year from today. Parents who have experienced a loss may request a peer mentor at any time for support from someone who has been there. For more information, visit our bereaved family support resources.
How to Support a Bereaved Parent. Bereaved parent and Hand to Hold Family Support Specialist Christine shares the most meaningful ways friends and family can support a parent after a loss.
Christine’s Story of Loss, Healing and Giving Back. Christine shares her personal story of loss and how giving back as a peer mentor and now a Hand to Hold Family Support Specialist has helped her heal.
NICU Parent Perspective: Acknowledging the Loss of a Multiple in the NICU. Bereaved parents in the Hand to Hold community were kind enough to share their stories with us of losing one or more children in a multiple birth – stories of loss, of grief, of healing, and of hope.
The Complex Emotions of Losing a Twin in the NICU. Guest blogger Ally Anderson shares her story of grief for the baby she lost and joy for the baby she still has.
Life After Loss: How to Start Your Grief Journey. Everyone’s grief journey is different. Guest blogger Brittany Clay shares how she was able to start healing after the loss of her son.
NICU Parent Perspective: We Have Hope in Whatever Lies Ahead. Nothing prepared Valerie for the surprise of being told she were having twins, or for the stress of experiencing complications at 22 weeks, or the pain of losing her precious baby A, Cristiano, just 22 minutes after his birth.
NICU Now Episode 13: Love and Loss in the NICU and Episode 15: Life Transformations After the NICU, Part 2.
A Letter to My Doctor. After losing her twins at just 23 weeks gestation, Melissa Vandermeer shares her raw and honest feelings on why self-advocacy is so important.
Kate’s Story of Loss. Author Kate Polley shares how the loss of one of her twins led her to a unique opportunity to give back to other parents who have lost a child.
Learning the Language of Grief: Telling a Twinless Twin About Their Twin. Kara Wahlin talks about the struggle to tell her son about his twin, who passed away shortly after birth.
Mourning a Loss That Doesn’t Quite Have a Name: Grief and Loss in the NICU. Kara Wahlin discusses how grief can play a part of our day to day lives.
Living with Grief: My Story of Infant Loss. Stacey Skrysak shares her difficult experience of losing two of her triplets in the NICU.
Honest Grief: From Being Strong To Being Real. Kierra Sorrells shares how trying to be strong may do more harm than good after the loss of a child.
10 Life Lessons I Learned After Experiencing Life’s Greatest Joy and Most Devastating Challenge. Charles George shares what he’s learned in the years since his son’s death from congenital heart disease.
National and International Resources for Bereaved Families
LISTEN NOW: NICU LOVE AND LOSS, A PODCAST FOR BEREAVED PARENTS.
Each episode features bereaved parents sharing their stories and discussing the many stages of grief, letting other parents know they are not alone.