October 15 is pregnancy and infant loss awareness day.
Here are some facts about pregnancy and infant loss:
1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage.
1 in 175 births ends in stillbirth.
Infant mortality is the death of an infant before his or her first birthday.
Facts, facts that may seem scary and hard to read. But facts that are many women’s reality.
» » » » » » RELATED READ: And Just Like That . . . One Mom’s Story of Infant Loss « « « « « « «
It may be hard to know what to do when a friend or family member suffers a loss of this kind. What to say, or simply, what not to say. And I’m not here to offer the right or wrong words. I want to let you know that by simply reading this and getting this far in this post, it shows your caring heart more than you think. 
Sit
Sit, as uncomfortable as it may feel sitting with your friend, while she navigates her road of loss. Your presence means more than anything,
Stay
Stay, don’t let the uncomfortableness of the grief make you stray. I know it can make your skin crawl sitting there in silence. Not knowing what to say. Thinking you need to fill the silence. You don’t. Trust me. You don’t. Just sit. And stay.
Stand
Stand when she can’t. Do it for her. Now you might be asking, what does that even look like? And it looks like something as simple as this:
October 15 is pregnancy and infant loss awareness day. At 7 pm your time, light a candle in honor of your friend’s child. This is called the Wave of Light. For 24 hours, all around the world, candles will be lit in honor of babies across the world.
It may not seem like much, but you thought of her, her child, and her family–her incomplete family unit for a moment. And for her, it means the world.
The opinions expressed in this post are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of El Paso Mom, its executive team, other contributors to the site, its sponsors or partners, or any organizations the aforementioned might be affiliated with.
