October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month
October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, originally founded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988, who had this to say about the issue: “When a child loses his parent, they are called an orphan. When a spouse loses her or his partner, they are called a widow or widower. When parents lose their child, there isn’t a word to describe them.”
All 50 states participate in National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day, held on October 15th, which was spearheaded by Robyn Bear after she suffered 6 miscarriages. “After Robyn Bear had six miscarriages, she realized her support system could not fully understand her loss. Eventually, Robyn teamed up with two other women to get proclamations signed supporting a day of remembrance for deceased babies and their parents. The action turned into a political movement.” (Staff, 2022, para. 4).
During the entire month, we take time to honor and remember those who have lost a child during pregnancy or lost a child in infancy. Miscarriage, stillbirth, and other conditions can cause a pregnancy to end before or during birth. Preterm birth, birth defects, and other health conditions can cause infant death.
The goal of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month is to raise awareness in the hopes of educating parents on healthy habits during pregnancy and providing support for grieving families. This article will provide support groups and other resources for grieving parents. “Promoting awareness of pregnancy and infant loss not only increases the likelihood that grieving families will receive understanding and support, but also results in improved education and prevention efforts which may ultimately reduce the incidence of these tragedies.” (Star Legacy Foundation, 2017, para. 1).
The Schutte Family sufferred a loss and then regained hope with the birth of their rainbow baby. Watch their story below or read it here.
Types of Pregnancy Loss:
Embryonic pregnancy. The egg is fertilized, but it never develops into an embryo.
Miscarriage. The loss of your baby before 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Ectopic pregnancy. The fetus develops outside the uterus. This might be in a fallopian tube, the cervix, or the pelvis or abdomen.
Molar pregnancy. The placenta and fetal tissues do not develop normally.
Stillbirth. This is when the fetus dies after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
A failed transfer during Invitro Fertilization (IVF).
SIDS - the sudden and unexplained death of a baby younger than one year old, usually occurring during sleep. Most cases happen in babies between 1 month and 1 year old, with the highest risk between 2 and 4 months.
Stats & Facts
The downloadable's below are free to use on Instagram!
Consider using hashtags like #InfantLossAwarenessDay, #StillbirthAwareness, #MiscarriageAwareness, and #PregnancyAndInfantLossAwareness.
About 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage.
1 in 160 pregnancies end in stillbirth in the U.S.
White pumpkins are sometimes used outside homes to acknowledge and remember a lost baby quietly.
Pink and blue are the traditional colors that represent pregnancy and infant loss awareness. Pink represents the loss of a daughter, while blue represents the loss of a son.
1 in 8 women are infertile.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are 5.6 infant deaths for every 1,000 live births.
Only about 1 in 100 women (1 percent) have repeat miscarriages.
Almost 20,000 infants died in the United States in 2020.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), over a million pregnancies end in miscarriages or stillbirths each year.
Australia allows parents to hold funerals or memorial services for babies born under 20 weeks old.
Healthy Pregnancy Tips
First and foremost, prevention matters, but blame doesn’t. Many pregnancy and infant losses happen despite appropriate medical care and healthy choices. This bullet list provides basic, healthy pregnancy tips, not an implication that parents are responsible for preventing every loss. The hope is for improved education and prevention efforts to reduce the incidence of these tragedies.
Pay attention to changes in fetal movement later in pregnancy. You can practice kick counting to help monitor your baby's movements. If something feels unusual or you’re concerned about your baby’s movement, contact your healthcare provider promptly rather than waiting.
Being at a healthy weight.
Take 400 micrograms of folic acid daily before pregnancy and during early pregnancy, unless your clinician recommends a different amount. This helps prevent certain serious birth defects.
Exercising. In fact, the Mayo Clinic recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise is recommended on most, if not all, days of the week. Check out the Pregnancy and Postpartum TV channel on youtube for free:
Start prenatal care early and keep appointments. Regular care helps identify and manage conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and infections. Also watch for Uterine or cervical problems. Certain uterine conditions or weak cervical tissues (incompetent cervix) might increase the risk of miscarriage.
Know the warning signs of pregnancy complications, such as severe headache, vision changes, significant swelling, vaginal bleeding, severe abdominal pain, trouble breathing, or other symptoms that feel concerning. Seek medical attention when these occur.
Put baby to sleep on their back. Every sleep. Naps included.
Give baby a firm, flat sleep surface. Use a safety-approved crib, bassinet, or play yard with a fitted sheet. Keep the sleep space clear. Keep pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, bumpers, and other soft objects out of baby’s sleep area.
Age. Women before the age of 20 and after age 35 have a higher risk of miscarriage.
How You Can Show Support
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Create a memory wall where you post your babies’ names or messages, or make one for someone who suffered the loss of a child.
Volunteer or Donate to M.E.N.D. (Mommies Enduring Neonatal Death) which is a Christian, non-profit organization that reaches out to families who have suffered the loss of a baby through miscarriage, stillbirth, or early infant death.
Host or promote a Wave of Light on October 15. The International Wave of Light turned into an initiative as part of the campaign supporting National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. People lit candles honoring babies who died — and their families — at exactly 7 pm in all time zones. Remembering Our Babies — is a particularly useful resource for October. It provides awareness materials, brochures, graphics, and information about the October 15 Wave of Light, when people light candles at 7 p.m. local time in remembrance.
Donate to Share Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support or call them at 1-800-821-6819 or email info@nationalshare.org.
Keep a pink or blue candle burning on the windowsill at night.
Plant a memorial tree or garden.
Wear or make memorial jewelry.
Tying pink and blue ribbons on your porch or trees in the yard is quick and easy.
Walk, jog, or run in the 5K Angel Run held in October in Virginia.
Creating or commissioning artwork
Support groups are provided later in this post.
If You Know Someone Who Has Suffered From Losing a Child.
If you know someone who has experienced a pregnancy or infant loss, there are a few things you can do to help support them. First, let them know that you’re there for them. This simple act can go a long way in helping them feel less alone. Avoid saying things that might make them feel worse. Phrases like “Everything happens for a reason” or “At least you can get pregnant” are often unhelpful and can hurt more than they help. Offer to help with practical tasks, like childcare or housework.
This can take some of the burdens off of the grieving parents and give them more time to focus on healing. Bring food or flowers. Oftentimes, those who have suffered a loss just don’t have the energy to cook or shop for groceries. Bringing them food or flowers is a simple but much-appreciated gesture. Finally, be patient. Grief is a process, and it doesn’t always follow a timeline. Understand that some days will be better than others for the person in your life who is grieving, and that’s okay and normal (Owlet, 2023, para. 15-20).
Licensed psychologist Rayna D. Markin, PhD, stated this about pregnancy loss in her blog:
Pregnancy loss is the only loss for which there are no culturally sanctioned mourning rituals and traditions, and family, friends, and even medical providers often rationalize or minimize pregnancy loss grief, saying that “time heals all wounds,” or assuring the couple that they will have another baby, as if one pregnancy or baby can replace another. In our society, individuals are often simply uncomfortable talking about the death of a baby and anything that has to do with a woman’s body. But as a result, many women and families feel alone, like their loss has been invalidated, and like they are the only ones who will hold the memory of their dead baby. They do not know how to mourn or with whom to mourn and feel as if their pain is both silent and invisible. They feel alone in their grief and may even wonder if there is something wrong with them for grieving in the first place.
For all these reasons, pregnancy and infant loss awareness month is so important. We need to create dedicated spaces for women and families to have a place or a space for all the overwhelming feelings that they hold inside, a place to share, a place to acknowledge, normalize, and validate the grief and the trauma that is often associated with these experiences. Essentially, this month provides a structured forum in which to explicitly or implicitly state, your loss is real and your grief is legitimate and you are not alone. This month can also help to educate support persons on how to support women and couples or families going through a loss (Markin, 2025, para 4-5).
It’s also important to point out that a child’s death not only affects the parents but everyone in the immediate family. Partners, grandparents, siblings, and other family members can grieve too. Janet Jaffe, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and co-founder of the Center for Reproductive Psychology in San Diego stated, “One of the biggest differences is that losing a pregnancy, or a baby is a loss of the future rather than of the past.”
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For more information on how everyone processes grief differently, please view this resource from Stacy Scott, PhD, MPA VP, Health Innovation - The Conditions Beneath Our Grief
Watch the #BraveThroughGrief Podcast on Youtube by Kennedy’s Angel Gowns.
Support Groups & Other Resources
If you or a loved one would like more resources on this topic or have any other questions, Dr. Sonal Patel can help. Her services are available both nationally and locally in the Denver area. Patients throughout the U.S. can schedule a FREE 20-minute consultation or get their postpartum questions answered 24/7 through our AI Naya Chat.
First Candle (support for families with children who died of SIDS or preventable stillbirth).
March of Dimes: Dealing with Grief After The Death of Your Baby.
Free National Helpline for Mental Health: SAMHSA’s National Helpline.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) — Its pregnancy-loss resource page provides links to medically oriented information from organizations such as ACOG, March of Dimes, Share, RESOLVE, and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
M.E.N.D. — Provides support for families after miscarriage, stillbirth, and early infant death, including support groups and remembrance events.
Share Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support — One of the most comprehensive organizations for families experiencing miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant loss. They have support groups and local chapters throughout the U.S. Their 2026 awareness calendar also includes the International Wave of Light and a remembrance walk.
Support Groups in Virginia - https://kennedysangelgowns.org/resources/
Center for Creative Counseling in Pittsburgh, PA - Hayley Wilds is an art therapist, certified grief professional, and loss mom devoted to breaking the silence around pregnancy loss and supporting others in their grief. She is the owner and lead clinician at the Center for Creative Counseling in Pittsburgh, PA, where she specializes in therapy for moms, pregnancy loss, and grief work. For more information on resources available for those who have experienced pregnancy or infant loss, please visit my website www.hayleywilds.com and check out my latest book, Creative Healing for Pregnancy Loss, available on Amazon.
Kennedy’s Angel Gowns Podcast on Grief: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9Zqcu_TlUeuNJlcsB6aLR6NX1WFnHLrB
For more information on Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, please view this resource from Florida Healthy Start Community Newsletter: https://capitalareahealthystart.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/OCTOBER-Stakeholders-Newsletter-Final.pdf
SOURCES
Staff. (2022, October 14). National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month - A Child’s Hope Adoption Agency Raleigh,. A Child’s Hope Adoption Agency Raleigh, Greensboro, Asheville NC | A Child’s Hope. https://achildshope.com/national-pregnancy-and-infant-loss-awareness-month/
October 15th Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month NeverBeStill. (2017). Star Legacy Foundation. https://starlegacyfoundation.org/awareness-month/
Owlet. (2023, November 14). Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. Owlet US. https://owletcare.com/blogs/all/pregnancy-infant-loss-month
Markin, D. R. D. P. (2025, October 2). Rayna D. Markin. Therapycenterpregnancyloss.Org; The Therapy Center for Pregnancy Loss. https://www.therapycenterpregnancyloss.org/blog/what-is-pregnancy-and-infant-loss-awareness-month-and-why-is-it-important
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