I’ve got a blog with ‘baby’ in the title and that means I’ve got to know lots of mums over the years. I’ve also heard of a lot of births.
One thing that continues to shock me is just how many babies either before birth, during or just after. Every year I discover someone I know who has lost a baby in the past. Of course, it being in the past doesn’t make it any less painful for them. Melanie Cossins of Cossins Music School blogged about her experience here.
This week is Baby Loss Awareness Week. I wanted to do my little bit to spread the word because if it was my child, I wouldn’t want her to be forgotten. We aren’t good at talking about death and I imagine the death of someone who didn’t get a chance at life is even harder to talk about in some ways.
According to the Guardian:
Contrary to common perception, major congenital anomalies (serious birth defects) account for fewer than 10% of stillbirths. Every year, more than 1,000 stillbirths occur when the baby is normally formed, considered low risk and at a time when the baby could survive outside the womb. If these babies could be delivered in time, lives could be saved.
We’ve managed to save so many of the lives that used to be lost to SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) before the ‘Reduce The Risk’ and ‘Back To Sleep’ campaigns of the early 1990s. Let’s hope we can save more babies who are lost just before, during and just after birth.