October was proclaimed National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. I never knew about it until last year. Until last year, I was blissfully unaware of the suffering of millions of families around the world. I knew the statistics, in fact I would spout them off to my patients regularly, “…it’s estimated that one in four pregnancies ends in miscarriage,” but I only saw the numbers. Now I know the faces. Since Ava’s death I am seeing, really seeing, for the first time in my life, the real people behind these numbers. I am shocked by the number of women that have approached me and shared, in solidarity and support, their own stories of pregnancy or infant loss. But still, these conversations were in hushed voices and private places. I decided to start this blog because I wanted to start the conversation about Ava and let people know that discussing my child who died was not taboo. I wanted to share my truth and feel less isolated in my grief, and through sharing I found relief. I had no idea how many people would be “listening.” After 15 months and only 41 published posts, twentysixandfour has had almost 17k views! Every click, every view, is a stitch of thread that mends my heart and keeps my baby’s memory alive. I may never be able to accurately put in to words the gift this site has been to me.

Now I want to share this gift with others. I realize speaking face-to-face, or aloud about our losses is difficult. I know not everyone wants to create a blog or speak out in public, but I do know that deep down most of us want to be heard and we want our babies to be honored. For the month of October I would like to invite anyone affected by pregnancy or infant loss to submit a post to this site. A post can be anything, a story, a journal entry, a poem, a letter, a few sentences, a baby’s name, anything. Any way that you may want to share your loss is welcomed. We are not a number. Our babies are not a statistic. Our grief is not a shameful secret. Help me put a face to pregnancy and infant loss.  Join me this month in remembering and honoring the tiny hearts we carry in ours.

To submit a guest post please e-mail your submission to: cari@twentysixandfour.com

Please include your name, or anonymous if you prefer to remain so. You may also include a brief bio and/or photo of yourself or your baby with your post if you’d like.