Skip to content

Butterfly Wings: Support after the death of a child

Hopes and dreams of a future with a new baby is an exciting and normal part of pregnancy. For some families though, those hopes and dreams are shattered in an instant when they hear the words, “I’m sorry, I cannot find your baby’s heartbeat.
Hopes and dreams of a future with a new baby is an exciting and normal part of pregnancy. For some families though, those hopes and dreams are shattered in an instant when they hear the words, “I’m sorry, I cannot find your baby’s heartbeat.”

In our community, one in four women will experience the heartbreaking loss of their baby. Whether it be at four weeks gestation or 40, or soon after birth, the death of a baby is a painful and devastating loss. Many of these families grieve in silence.

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, a month to recognize and bring awareness to the importance of providing grief support services to parents who experience the death of a baby.

It is a time to consider how, as individuals and as a community, we can join together to help meet the needs of these bereaved parents so they no longer have to face this alone.

Butterfly Wings Perinatal Bereavement was founded in 2012 by a group of individuals with an aim to fill an existing gap in pregnancy and infant loss services within our community.

When a baby dies, parents often go through an intense grieving process. Dreams of planning a future with their baby come to a sudden and unexpected end and parents are left trying to cope with the intensity of their feelings.

Butterfly Wings provides parents with a safe and supportive environment to share those feelings and to receive ongoing support.

At Butterfly Wings, we recognize the needs of parents and offer free grief support services aimed at assisting these families as they cope with the death of their baby. Through individual counseling, support groups, a resource library and yearly remembrance services, our goal is to support families in their grief so they do not have to walk this path alone. In the past, Sudbury families have had limited local resources to access following the death of their baby.

With the help of generous donations from our dedicated volunteers and supporters, Butterfly Wings will continue to grow and provide free grief support services so that no family in our community will have to grieve the death of their baby alone.
Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day is Oct. 15. It’s a day to remember and honour the short lives of the babies that continue to live on in the hearts of their families.

If you or someone you know has suffered an early pregnancy loss, stillbirth or newborn death, we invite you to light a candle on Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. Join thousands of families across the country in recognizing a national tribute created to bring awareness to the issue of pregnancy and infant loss.

For more information on our services or how you can help, please visit us at butterflywings.ca.

Colleen Thompson is a member of the board of directors of Butterfly Wings Perinatal Bereavement Services.

Comments

Verified reader

If you would like to apply to become a verified commenter, please fill out this form.