October 15th is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day in the United States. Each year, over half a million dreams are shattered. Out of 3.3 million born alive, some 30,000 die during the first 28 days. Another 39,000 babies are still born. Miscarriage occurs in fifteen to twenty percent of pregnancies, while ectopic pregnancy occurs in one percent.
More than 25,000 children are stillborn in the United States every year leaving mothers, entire families and communities devastated. Estimates of the rate of occurrence of stillbirth make it at least as common as autism.
On October 15th, remember the thousands of unfinished children lost and the families who remain to grieve them.
Please take some time today, to remember our twins and the brief moments I carried them. Tonight as I light my candle, I will not forget, but I will say a prayer of thanks that my heart is not quite so broken any more.
I lit a candle even as I lectured my students. I said I was remembering two beautiful babies who would always be in my heart.
ReplyDeleteLove you Jen.