Baby Loss Awareness Week 2024
Taking place 9 – 15 October every year, Baby Loss Awareness Week raises awareness about pregnancy and baby loss.
Throughout the week, bereaved parents, and their families and friends, unite with others across the world to commemorate the lives of babies who died during pregnancy, at or soon after birth and in infancy.
Few experiences can compare to the trauma and pain of pregnancy and baby loss. For this Baby Loss Awareness Week, colleagues in our Perinatal Trauma and Loss Service (PETALS) team are sharing information and advice. Find out more through the headings below.
- Baby Loss Awareness Week
- Self-soothe box
- Mindfulness
- Growing around grief
- Gratitude pot
- Support for all
- Join the global “Wave of Light”
Baby Loss Awareness Week
Wednesday 9 October marks the start of Baby Loss Awareness Week.
We recognise that losing a baby at any point and for any reason, can be incredibly painful. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to be feeling after these experiences. You may be struggling with a post-traumatic stress response, or you may feel stuck in the grief.
PETALS is a specialist talking therapy service across Greater Manchester, providing support to women and birthing people who have experienced the following difficulties relating to fertility, pregnancy, birth, or the postnatal period:
- Perinatal trauma (traumatic experiences during birth and neonatal trauma)
- Loss of baby (either through IVF which hasn’t been as hoped, early ending pregnancy for any reason, early and recurrent miscarriage, still birth or baby loss in the first two years of a baby’s life)
- Intense fear of pregnancy or childbirth
Regardless of how traumatic the event is viewed by others; we know it is the individual’s feelings and personal experience which is most important.
You can find out more about PETALS here: Perinatal Trauma and Loss Service (PETALS) | Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS FT (gmmh.nhs.uk)
Self-soothe box
The loss of a baby means that people can suffer with difficult emotions like anger, sadness, envy or rage. These emotions are a part of a grieving process and are understandable. Some people find it helpful to have a box or some sort of container with some items in that they know will help to soothe them.
You could make a self-soothe box, and this could be placed somewhere easily available to you such as by the side of your bed or in your clothes cupboard, or you might want to place it in your safe space if that is a specific area in the house.
Try and include something for every sense in your self-soothe box.
Mindfulness
After the loss of a baby, it is understandable that people can feel that they worry about the future or think too much about their past. So, it is important to be in the present moment and mindfulness can help with that.
Mindfulness is a skill to help you pay attention in the present moment whilst letting go of any judgement. It is not about trying to get rid of thoughts or emotions, or ‘emptying our minds’, as is so commonly thought. Instead, it is about starting to notice where our mind is and, gently, bringing it to awareness of the present moment. For example, noticing where our mind is and then trying to bring our mind to what we can see or hear around us.
Try some of the below mindfulness practices:
Use your senses
When you are completing a task, involve your senses. For example, you may be applying hand cream. What does he cream look like in the palm of your hand? How does it smell? Has the cream absorbed into your hand? Does your hand feel smooth? Is the cream glistening in the light? Do you notice any changes in your body as you do it?
Mindful walking
Go for a mindful walk. Notice what you can see, what you can hear, feel and smell. For example, the sound of birds chirping and the wind blowing. Feel the breeze on your skin and look at the way leaves glisten.
Butterfly hug
This is a simple grounding technique that can help to bring you back to here and now and to reduce the intensity of emotions.
- Cross both arms over your chest and place each hand on your shoulder.
- Gently begin tapping each hand one at a time on your arms. Tap for ten counts. Pause and take a deep breath.
- Continue tapping your arms until you feel more relaxed.
For more information on mindfulness practices, visit: Discover Your Haven of Support | Relax With Lucy & Co - Baby Loss Wellbeing Support
Growing around grief
Understandably, following the loss of a baby the grief felt is huge and can often be triggered over again. We don’t ‘get over’ grief and it doesn’t ‘go away’, instead as time goes on, you learn to grow around your grief.
Sometimes on certain dates, such as anniversaries, you may be taken right back into that place of pain. You are not alone. Just know that it is normal, it is okay, and it will pass.
Gratitude pot
The loss of a baby during any point in your journey may feel very difficult. Understandably, it can leave us feeling alone and blaming ourselves. Finding things to be grateful for and believing in your strengths may help.
“Gratitude turns what we have into enough and more.”
“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
Support for all
Loss of a baby can affect your relationships or may lead you to withdraw from others around you. When you’re ready, try and make steps to build your circle of support.
We recognise that everyone may perceive and experience perinatal loss in different ways depending on their unique identity, experiences, cultural beliefs, and experiences.
The below list highlights some of the available resources and support available:
- SANDS – Support for Black communities
- TFMR Mamas
- Finding Rainbows
- Miscarriage for Men
- Bliss
- Dad Matters
- SANDS
- Tommy’s
- Lullaby Trust
Join the global “Wave of Light”
Baby Loss Awareness Week culminates with the global “Wave of Light” on 15 October, which is also a globally recognised event.
We invite you to join other families across the world by lighting a candle at 7pm local time and leaving it burning for at least one hour to remember all babies that have died too soon.
Wherever you do this, you will be joining a global ‘Wave of Light’ in memory of all the babies who lit up our lives for such a short time.
Join in the conversation!
X (formally Twitter): @GMMH_NHS
Facebook: @GMMentalHealth
Instagram: @gmmh_nhs
Or search the hashtags #BLAW #BabyLossAwarenessWeek #WaveOfLight
You can find out more about Baby Loss Awareness Week at Baby Loss Awareness Week – Break the silence around baby loss (babyloss-awareness.org)
