Babies at risk

Singing “Nothing Is Lost on the Breath of God” in church recently, my mind called up the face and tiny body of the most recent stillborn child I blessed. A beautiful post by Rebecca Kirkpatrick from some months ago has connected the song in my mind with pregnancy loss.

Edward Blum brought it to my attention that tomorrow, October 15, is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. In caring for parents after stillbirth or the death of an infant I have witnessed a deep pain and sadness distinct from other expressions of grief I have seen. These losses are profound in any circumstances. Some young lives can’t be saved by even the best medical technology, and that is one of the heaviest tragedies a family can face.

Yet periodically I wonder why there is so much more infant and pregnancy loss in the hospitals where I have worked as a chaplain, which serve largely low-income people of color.