In the last decade, multiple pregnancy loss organizations have sprung up, many of them founded by Christian women who themselves have lost a child. Each new organization brings increasing public awareness to what’s historically been a lonely, hidden pain: the loss of a child through miscarriage or stillbirth.
One such organization, A Mom’s Peace, was founded in Virginia in 2014 by Kara Palladino after she lost her seventh child, a son named Hunter, to miscarriage. She told EWTN Pro-Life Weekly’s Catherine Hadro during a 2018 interview “[Pregnancy loss] is very much a silent suffering. It’s like a secret sister loss club.”
A Mom’s Peace is volunteer-led by a team of women who serve straight from the heart as they themselves are each intimately, painfully familiar with pregnancy loss. Some have lost twins others have lost four or even five babies.
To date, A Mom’s Peace has served hundreds of hurting families, offering them emotional support as well as education on the ins and outs of securing a respectful burial for their babies. Couples who find themselves unsure where to turn when they lose a baby before 20 weeks gestation, only to find out that their hospital’s protocol is to dispose of babies’ remains as “medical waste,” can find answers on next steps from A Mom’s Peace. Families who are able to procure their child’s remains only to be shocked at the many costs associated with a funeral and burial can work with A Mom’s Peace to obtain burial gowns, caskets, and more. The organization also has a coordinator who works specifically with Spanish-speaking families. Families can reach out 24/7 by calling 571-781-2419 or 703-347-4805.
READ: Her own early, heartbreaking miscarriage motivated her to help other moms in need
Perhaps A Mom’s Peace’s most unique offering is the opportunity to commemorate miscarried or stillborn children in their virtual Garden of Remembrance. According to the website, “Whether your loss was recent or many years ago, this is a place of remembrance for those little ones who were only with us for a very short time, but mean so much to us… This is a place to honor the little lives that touched our hearts. We encourage you to name your sweet little one and memorialize your baby with a flower in our virtual Garden of Remembrance.”
Reading through the names in the Garden, arranged alphabetically by last name, one is struck by the wide range in dates. One baby was lost in 1983, with another lost as recently as December of 2021. Visitors will also see multiple babies with the same last name, some just months apart. Each one is gone from this world, but none are forgotten.
Live Action News has previously profiled multiple organizations and highlighted resources for families experiencing pregnancy loss, such as Trappist Caskets in Iowa, which crafts infant-sized caskets and ships them overnight to grieving families, completely free of charge. Mattie’s Memory in Michigan provides “memory bags, blankets, hats, teddy bears, burial gowns, and bereavement support items to local hospitals for women who suffer pregnancy and infant loss.” And soon, Morgan’s Place Cemetery in Ohio will house 4,160 plots for the remains of miscarried, stillborn, or aborted babies.
If you’re wondering how to serve a friend or relatives suffering after child loss, some helpful suggestions offered by a mom who herself lost a young child can be found here.
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