Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day
Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day is observed on October 15th. It is a day dedicated to remembering and honouring babies lost during pregnancy and infancy.
The loss of a child is profound at any stage and yet, it is something many people find difficult to talk about. People often carry shame and guilt around the loss which only festers in silence. We need families, communities and healthcare professionals to come together to break the silence surrounding misscarriage, stillbirth, and infant death.
In Canada, 15-25% of all pregnancies end in misscarriage. There are 9 stillbirths per 1,000 births per year and 4 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. In spite of how common these significant losses are, they remain undiscussed. Expectant mothers are often instructed to wait until they are 12 weeks pregnant, when the chances of misscarriage significantly decreases, to share the happy news. It is only after the first trimester passes, when they have reached a supposed safe zone that they are encouraged to celebrate. But the message behind this seems to be that, if you don’t share your happy news until you’re out of the woods, you won’t have to share your bad news if you experience a loss. We are removing women who never reach the second trimester from the conversation and suggesting that their pregnancy only matters if it’s viable. Death is hard for people to talk about but families who have experienced stillbirth or lost a child in infancy need others to push through their own discomfort to recognize and make space for their pain. By raising awareness, we can begin to normalize conversations around pregnancy and baby loss and encourage families to talk about their grief.
We encourage everyone to join The Global Wave of Light. On October 15, at 7:00pm, please light a candle in remembrance of all the babies, gone too soon. This can be done alone, with a group, at home, or in a church. Know that wherever you light a candle, you will be joining a global “wave of light” as candles will be lit at 7:00pm local time around the world. We stand with bereaved families today and every day forward.