Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day is a day of remembrance for pregnancy loss and infant death, which includes but is not limited to miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS, or the death of a newborn. It is observed annually in the United States and Canada and, in recent years, in the United Kingdom and in the Australian States of Western Australia and New South Wales, in Italy on behalf of a charity named Piccoli Angeli on October 15. Contrary to the popular belief that Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day is internationally legislated and observed as an international day of remembrance, this is not the case.
Through the legislative campaigns of individuals world wide Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day is becoming an international day of observation. Germany and most other non-English speaking countries do not observe this day.
The day is observed with remembrance ceremonies and candle-lighting vigils, concluding with the International Wave of Light, a worldwide lighting of candles at 7:00 p.m. The International Wave of Light invites participants from around the world to light a candle in honor of PAILRD, starting at 1900 hours on October 15 in their respective time zones, and to leave the candle burning for at least an hour.
The result is a continuous chain of light spanning the globe for a 24 hour period in honor and remembrance of the children who die during pregnancy or shortly after birth. Twitter hash tags: #mybabywascalled and #Iremembermybaby
October 15th is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day. We invite everyone to join us in lighting a candle in memory of a baby that has been lost and in honor of those families who have suffered the devastating loss of a baby. Light your candle at 7PM, in whatever time zone you are in, for one hour and create a constant wave of light for 24 hours to honor all babies gone too soon. We here at Walk to Remember will be lighting our candles and as always we walk and remember with you!
Invite your family and friends and let’s create the brightest wave of light we can!
For more information about this special day visit www.october15th.com.
The Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Movement began in the United States on October 25, 1988 when then-American President Ronald Reagan designated the month of October 1988 as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month.
The October 15th Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day (PAILRD) Campaign began in 2002 as an American movement started by Robyn Bear, Lisa Brown, and Tammy Novak. Together, they petitioned the federal government, as well as the governors of each of the 50 states, and by October 15, 2002 (the first observance of PAILRD) 20 states had signed proclamations recognizing the date as such. As a result of the American campaign effort, Concurrent Resolution H. CON. RES. 222 Supporting the goals and ideals of National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day was passed in the House of Representatives on September 28, 2006.
To date, all 50 American states have yearly proclamations, with Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, New York, Rhode Island, and South Dakota enacting permanent proclamations.
The Director of the Canadian Pregnancy Loss and Infant Death Awareness and Remembrance Campaign, Terra-Lynn Coggan, joined the American movement in September 2004 and took on the role as the Canadian Director for October 15 Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day and began the Canadian Campaign. Throughout Terra-Lynn’s Canadian campaign efforts she has campaigned to remove the social stigma which is attach to pregnancy loss and infant death and the way in which families grieve their loss. Terra-Lynn believes that greater awareness will increase research which will enable health care providers and social agencies from across Canada and around the world to develop programs and services based on the findings of empirical research. Terra-Lynn passion is evident in her campaign efforts.
The Organizer of Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness “A Walk To Remember” in Vernon, BC Canada Jennifer Patrick started her fundraiser campaign in October 2004 after the Stillbirth of her son Connor. In October 2005 Jennifer worked with the Attorney General to help get a Proclamation approved. October is now declared as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month in British Columbia, Canada.
On October 12, 2005, when New Brunswick received official recognition of October 15 Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, Coggan resigned as the Canadian Director for the American Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Campaign and independently launched The Canadian Pregnancy Loss and Infant Death Awareness and Remembrance Campaigns.
Since New Brunswick’s Declaration of October 15, Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day the province of Nova Scotia has followed suit with a similar declaration. The provinces of Ontario and Manitoba are currently considering a declaration.
The campaign for Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day in Australia began in May 2008 when Nicole Ballinger of the State of New South Wales (NSW) approached her State and Federal MPs to request their help in establishing this Day. Although aiming for a nationwide declaration, Mrs Ballinger took this two-pronged approach as she had been advised that federal motions often get passed once they are first passed at the State level. Guided by her MPs, Joanna Gash (Federal) and Shelley Hancock (State), Mrs Ballinger lobbied both levels of government beginning in 2008: utilizing petitions, the internet and social media, and repeated correspondence with Australian Prime Ministers, NSW Premiers, Health Ministers, Senators and other MPs. In support, Mrs Gash and Mrs Hancock continued to present this motion in parliament at the State and Federal levels.
On October 14, 2011, Mrs Hancock and NSW Health Minister Gillian Skinner announced the official declaration of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day in NSW.
To date, Mrs Ballinger continues to lobby the Australian government with the support of Joanna Gash, to get Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day officially declared across Australia.
When I started WhatsInMyBelly.com, it was all in good fun. I just wanted a well-designed website to start a baby pool. This website was started after my wife and I already had one child, and that pregnancy went really well – nothing out of the ordinary – and my wife and son were perfectly happy and healthy afterwards. We were so thankful.
A big part of that thankfulness was caused by a scare shortly before we were even married. I remember Ashley’s phone call after a doctor’s appointment. I could tell she was already in tears, and could barely get out the words “You don’t have to marry me… I may not be able to have kids.” After assuring her that fertility would have zero effect on our plans, she went on to tell me that her doctor thought that she had mild to serious Endometriosis, and the doctor recommended that if she wanted to have kids she should start working on that sooner rather than later. Long story short, Ashley ended up having very mild endometriosis and today we have two healthy children.
But while we were building WhatsInMyBelly and waiting on Baby #2, I couldn’t help but shake some negative thoughts in the back of my mind. “What if something happens?” … “What if my child is born with some disease?” … “What if my wife has a miscarriage?”
I wouldn’t say I was obsessed, and I never even mentioned any of these thoughts to my wife or anyone else. But, I think these are thoughts that pass through everyone’s mind when they’re expecting. I tend to be a very positive person, but the sad fact is, my worries were not unjustified.
In fact, The National Center for Health Statistic’s (NCHS) National Survey of Family Growth estimates that there are more than 1 million fetal losses per year in the United States, with the majority of those occurring during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy (source documents here). That’s basically the long way of saying what we all know: complications and infant loss of various kinds during pregnancy is relatively common. If you want to know more facts, check out American Pregnancy Association’s Statistics page.
I know. This isn’t a fun topic to post on a blog for a pregnancy game. But, I personally feel like everyone is way too “hush-hush” about this topic. I’m not sure why this is. Maybe it’s because some people debate the level of tragedy. Some people experience a loss early on in pregnancy and don’t think much about it. Some are traumatized for life. Regardless of our emotional reaction, I doubt anyone ever forgets the experience.
Count the Kicks campaign to spread the word that by simply measuring fetal movements or counting kicks, thousands of babies’ lives can be saved. Many expecting mothers do not realize 1 in 160 births results in a stillbirth and that kick counting has been scientifically proven to save lives.
This campaign originated in Iowa, but this year, we are planning to take it nationwide with the help of Count the Kicks Ambassadors, seven women (Shawn Soumilas of Arizona, Kari Davis of Ohio, Meghan Petty of Tennessee, Karina Bennett of New York/California, Stacey Gripshover of Kentucky, Sapphire Garcia-Glancy of Kansas, and Sarah Firianni of Florida) from across the country who will be spreading the word about the importance of tracking fetal movement during the third trimester of pregnancy. In fact, Florida’s Sarah Firianni saved her baby’s life by kick counting and noticing a change in his movements.
Sarah’s baby had a true knot in his cord. Count the Kicks, or share this news with your visitors. For more information and to join the movement, please visit and like www.facebook.com/countthekicks.
Pregnancy and Infant Loss – OFFICIAL WEBSITE
Pregnancy & Infant Loss Remembrance Day, OCT 15
October 15, 2013 by
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