Babycenter Archives | Reconceiving Loss

Vessels: A Love Story by Daniel Raeburn hits shelves today. Based upon an acclaimed New Yorker essay of the same title, the book concerns male grief and baby loss. Rebekah …continue

Post-Loss: I Scheduled My c-sections and I’d do it Again

I remember once listening to two women talk in a playground. One was pregnant and they were discussing her impending birth. They were strangers to me – I was eves …continue

7 Words That Terrify Mothers Pregnant With Their Rainbow

When I was very pregnant with my rainbow baby – a rainbow baby is one born subsequent to a loss – I remember an awkward exchange with a friend. Standing …continue

Beautiful Photographs Immortalize Lost Children for Grieving Parents

I have recently noticed a greater transparency in the media regarding pregnancy and infant loss. This gradual opening has not happened in a vacuum. As a bereaved mother, I am …continue

Sex After Miscarriage: 5 Things Women Wish Their Partners Knew

One of the many social taboos that surround miscarriage and it’s wake, is the issue of sex after loss. It is difficult for the husband or the partner who has …continue

An Open Letter to My Living Children on Mother’s Day

Is Mother’s Day the best name for this day of the year, a sort of season in itself? One of my greatest fears in talking openly about the child I …continue

Healing Retreats for Moms in Grief

In 2005, Kiley and Sean Hanish suffered the loss of their first child, who was stillborn. In the years since, they have worked tirelessly to break the silence that surrounds …continue

Being Pregnant Doesn’t Mean Saying Goodbye to the Baby You Lost

In the months that followed my son’s loss I considered the way forward. I never questioned my resolve to attempt another pregnancy, but it often seemed insurmountable. I wandered around …continue

Post-Loss Pregnancy: Redefining Your Relationship with Your OB

Following the stillbirth of my son in 2005, I considered how my relationship with my doctor would be altered. In the wake of loss, my needs had indeed changed. I …continue

Thief Returns Photos of Family’s Last Moments with Dying Infant

Faith Massey is a single mother of five children and a professional photographer who volunteers her time with Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep (https://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org/), an organization that provides …continue

I Didn’t Know How to Be a Loss Mom in My Circle of Parents

Last night I watched my daughter sleeping with extravagant and abundant moon shadow shawling over her. It was bitterly cold and the snow outside was pulsing blue and gleaming. It …continue

5 Ways to Endure the Pain of Losing Your Baby

In December 2005, I gave birth to a stillborn son. While in labor, I experienced a grief so transcendent, it almost lifted me up, after which waves of despair seemed …continue