Pregnancy and infant loss are heartbreaking and grief-filled experiences. While it may sometimes feel easier to put away all reminders of a loss, memorializing the pregnancy and baby can be healing for many parents. Here are some ways to honor a miscarried, stillborn, or deceased baby.
Not all of these suggestions will be ideal for everyone. This list is intended to help parents experiencing a loss find memorialization options that resonate with them, their baby, and their pregnancy.
- Make a scrapbook containing any memories of your pregnancy and baby, such as pictures, ultrasound photos, or journal entries.
- Press flowers that remind you of your pregnancy or baby. Maybe you press flowers of your baby’s birth or due date month or flowers that were given to you after the loss. The pressed flowers could be used in a scrapbook or picture frame.
- Keep a journal in which you write any and all memories or thoughts about your pregnancy and baby.
- Purchase or make jewelry that reminds you of your pregnancy or baby. Maybe this jewelry includes the birthstone of your baby’s birth or due date month or an engraving of your baby’s name.
- Create a memory box. Gather meaningful items that remind you of your baby, such as ultrasound photos, hospital bracelets, tiny clothes, or journal entries.
- Write a Letter or Poem. Pour your heart out on paper. If you had the opportunity, what would you say to your baby? Write it down.
- Support other grieving families. Show empathy and kindness to grieving families through your own efforts or through volunteering with an organization or charity like Share Parents of Utah. Many parents find solace in the knowledge that their baby’s life has made a difference.
- Create art. Make something beautiful that is inspired by memories of your pregnancy and baby.
- Make donations in your baby’s name or in honor of your baby.
- Invite people to wear a specific color on your baby’s birthday or another special date related to your pregnancy and baby.
- Plant a tree, flower, or produce garden. Or, float petals down a river or use petals as confetti.
- Light a candle in honor of your baby. Some specific times to light candles are at holiday dinners and during the Wave of Light, a globally recognized event on October 15 at 7 PM.
- Include your baby during the holidays. If you celebrate Christmas, hang a stocking for them or have a special ornament on the tree. When celebrating gift-giving holidays, consider donating gifts to a child in need that is the same age as your baby would be.
- Write your baby’s name in the sand.
- Decorate your baby’s headstone, gravesite, or urn location on holidays or special occasions.
Memorializing and honoring a miscarried, stillborn, or deceased baby can help bring peace to parents’ troubled hearts. If you have experienced a pregnancy or infant loss, please comment additional ideas for ways to honor and memorialize a loss baby.