October is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, and it brings much-needed attention to an extremely sensitive topic. For those who have desired a child or to grow their family and then have had a pregnancy end too soon or have had a baby that passed, the immense loss can be unbearable. Yet National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month is here to support those who have “angel babies.” Angel babies are babies who did not survive the womb or passed as an infant. Coping with pregnancy loss can be an arduous journey that nobody can fully understand unless they have experienced it.
Because of that reality, National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month brings communities together so that mothers and families know that they do not have to experience the pain alone.
Angel babies and grief: How to cope
Pregnancy after miscarriage: Will I be able to carry a child to full-term?
Many women who have endured the loss of a pregnancy or an infant have had successful pregnancies. According to the American Pregnancy Association, 85% of women will have given birth to a child after one miscarriage and that number only drops by 10% for those women who have had two to three miscarriages. The APA further shares how women can begin trying to conceive once their body heals and when they have had two to three normal menstrual cycles consecutively.
As a guideline, the APA advises:
- Seek medical advice if you have endured more than three miscarriages
- Request close monitoring of your pregnancy journey
- Make space for the grieving that might arise
- Avoid listening to too much outside advice given by well-intentioned family or friends
- If you are having trouble coping with the pregnancy, then you should seek medical help
A mother is a mother no matter if her pregnancy was carried to term. If you have an angel baby and are in need of help, please reach out to your doctor to seek healthy ways of finding closure.
