Click here for ideas on how friends and family can support a family that is dealing with the loss of their baby.

http://www.pregnancylossribbons.com/forfriendsandfamily.htm

It is a difficult time- you come home without your child and it seems like everyone around you gets back to their own lives. And then the mail starts. Little diapers in the mail. Samples of formula. Postcards welcoming your child. Milestone checklists of what your child should be doing at this stage. Each trip to the mailbox is a little ticking time bomb.

There is a way to get your name off these lists. Ask a friend or family member to help if you need it.

Contact Direct Marketing Association and request the removal of your name from any baby product mailing list. Provide your name and address. You need to request all variations of your name should be removed such as Mr & Mrs. John Doe, Mary and John Doe, Parents of Baby Doe, etc. It can take up to 90 days to take effect.

Mail inquiries to Direct Marketing Association Mail Preference Service, P.O. Box 282, Carmel, NY 10512 or visit https://www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailing to fill out an online form. 

This information is provided as a service and I can't guarantee effectiveness, but it is what was provided to me. Good luck- gentle days, emily

This list is provided as a resource. If you feel overwhelmed or beyond help PLEASE tell someone and get help. There are many excellent resources for depression or people feeling suicidal thoughts. Please do not suffer in silence. Here are some common signs of grief. They may include the following:

Physical Sensations

Tightness in chest
Tightness in throat
Oversensitivity to noise
Depersonalization
Breathlessness
Headaches
Weakness in muscles
Lack of energy
Dry mouth
Trouble swallowing
Hollowness in the stomach
sighing

Behaviors

Sleep problems
No appetite
Forgetfulness
Social withdrawals
Dreams of deceased
Avoidance of reminders
Calling out
Restless Activity
Crying
Clinging to reminders
Treasuring objects

Feelings

Sadness
Anger
Guilt
Anxiety
Loneliness
Fatigue
Helplessness
Shock
Yearning
Numbness
Relief

Thoughts

Disbelief
Confusion
Pre-occupation
Sense of presence
Hearing and seeing the deceased

How do you scrapbook a baby you never knew? Click here to get ideas on how and why to scrapbook your child.  http://www.pregnancylossribbons.com/scrapbookyourbaby.htm

Click here to read a collection of quotes. I have given credit when I knew the author. If you find I have neglected to give credit please email me and let me know. Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this! (particular thanks to Jill and Tammy) http://www.pregnancylossribbons.com/quotes.htm

For our HeartSpoken vellum quotes please click on the following link http://www.pregnancylossribbons.com/heartspokenvellumquote.htm

Often it helps to know you are not alone in this journey. There are many families that have experienced the loss of a baby. These sites have message boards and chat rooms. I have found these sites very welcoming and understanding as I have traveled this journey of grief.

SHARE   I still go the message boards there daily- they have been an amazing support to me

Kotapress In particular I love the idea of continued parenting and Kara's zine she sends. Lots of ideas and a neat loss dictionary

MISS Fountation

The Compassionate Friends has many resources as well as online chats

Other helpful sites include:

A Small Victory  Providing Loss Kits to parents of children lost through miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal loss as well as training nurses on how to properly deal with these types of loss. A Small Victory will also connect families with one on one or group counseling.

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep- Sends professional photographers free of charge to take photographs of the short time you may have to hold your child

A Place To Remember  Many memory items

Angel Teddy Bears  provides teddy bears to family's that have experienced a loss

Little Angels Online Store 

For Grandparents:

Forgotten Tears A Grandmother's Journey Through Grief book

 Resources from The Compassionate Friends

Aloha Remembered Blog: Have your grandchild’s name written in the sand and a photo posted on our blog.

Grieving Grandparents Bereavement Support Article

Grandparent Grief pamphlet from the SIDS network

The Grief of Grandparents article by Compassionate Friends

Helping a Grandparent Who Is Grieving Article by Alan D. Wolfelt, PH.D

Healing Hearts: Support for Grieving Grandparents Email Penpals

THE 1988 PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month

Each year, approximately a million pregnancies in the U.S. end in miscarriage, stillbirth or the death of the newborn child. National observance of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month offers us the opportunity to increase our understanding of the great tragedy involved in the deaths of unborn and newborn babies. It also enables us to consider how, as individuals and communities, we can meet the needs of bereaved parents and family members on work to prevent causes of these problems.

Health care professionals recognize that trends of recent years, such as smaller family size and postponement of childbearing, adds another dimension of poignancy to the grief of parents who have lost infants. More than 700 local, national and international support groups are supplying programs and strategies designed to help parents cope with their loss. Parents who have suffered their own losses, health care professionals and specially trained hospital staff members are helping newly bereaved parents deal constructively with loss...

The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 314, has designated the month of October, as "Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month" and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this month.

NOW, THEREFORE, I RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the month of October as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of October in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-eight and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirteenth.

Ronald Reagan
Former President
United States of America

Pregnancy:

There are approximately 6 million pregnancies every year throughout the United States:

• 4,058,000 live births
• 1,995,840 pregnancy losses

Pregnancy Loss:

Every year in the United States there are approximately 2 million women who experience pregnancy loss:

• 600,000 women experience pregnancy loss through miscarriage
• 1,200,000 women experience pregnancy loss through termination
• 64,000 women experience pregnancy loss through ectopic pregnancy
• 6,000 women experience pregnancy loss through molar pregnancies
• 26,000 women experience pregnancy loss through stillbirth

Pregnancy Complications:

Every year in the United States:

• 875,000 woman experience one or more pregnancy complications
• 458,952 babies are born to mothers without adequate prenatal care
• 467,201 babies are born prematurely
• 307,030 babies are born with Low Birth Weight
• 154,051 children are born with Birth Defects
• 27,864 infants die before their first birthday .

statistics taken from American Pregnancy Association website

click on the link to connect to their site http://www.americanpregnancy.org/main/statistics.html

click on the link for some tips on photographing your baby 

http://www.pregnancylossribbons.com/photographytips.htm

The holidays are particularly difficult after the loss of a child. I have included some ideas to help get through this time of year. I celebrate Christmas, but no doubt some of the information may suit other holidays as well.

please click here http://www.pregnancylossribbons.com/facingtheholidays.htm