Awareness of Infertility, Adoption, Pregnancy Loss, Infant Death & Other Fertility-related Issues
October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss
Awareness Month
National Infertility
Awareness Week: October
Adoption
Awareness Month: November
Mother's In Waiting Day, May 18, 2003, recognizes those longing for motherhood.
Pregnancy Loss, Infant Death, SIDS
Other Awareness Issues (Endometriosis, Stepfamilies)
Do you know of a web site promoting awareness of fertility challenges? Please let us know!
Hope deferred makes the
heart sick...
Proverbs 13:12a (NIV)
Impact and Statistics | National Infertility Awareness Week - October | Presensentation Sunday - Every January | Ongoing Efforts | International | History
There are three things
that are never satisfied, four that never say, "Enough!": the
grave, the barren womb, land, which is never satisfied with water, and
fire, which never says, "Enough!"
Proverbs 30:15b-16 (NIV)
What Is Infertility and How Does It
Impact Lives?
Infertility is defined as the inability to conceive within one year of unprotected intercourse (for a woman over 35, this time period is 6 months), or the inability to carry a child to live birth.
In her book, The Ache for a Child, Debra Bridwell states that infertility effects, "an estimated one in six couples of child-bearing age in the United States... The statistics describe the number of people, but not the emotions and tears behind the numbers." (Debra Bridwell, The Ache for a Child: Emotional, Spiritual, and Ethical Insights for Women Suffering through Infertility and Pregnancy Loss)
According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, "Infertility affects about 6.1 million people in the U.S. -- about ten percent of the reproductive age population. Infertility affects men and women equally. Most infertility cases -- 85% to 90% -- are treated with conventional medical therapies such as medication or surgery. While vital for some patients, in vitro fertilization and similar treatments account for less than 5% of infertility services..." (From the ASRM's "Frequently Asked Questions About Infertility", Copyright © 1998.)
According to July 8, 1998 article compiled from Fertility and Sterility, infertility rates among American women are expected to rise over the next few decades. "The projection contradicts previous reports, which predicted a decline in infertility rates as the baby boomer generation ages beyond the reproductive years. Between 5 million and 6.3 million US women may be infertile in the year 2000, according to Washington, DC-based researchers, and this number could be as high as 7.7 million women in 2025."
Understanding Infertile Couples is a great starting point for anyone who wishes to better understand, emotionally support, or encourage an infertile friend, family member, coworker, patient, church member, associate, or other acquaintance.
Hannah's Prayer Infertility Links
National (United States) Infertility
Awareness
OBSERVING INFERTILITY AWARENESS MONTH is an informative site compiled as an infertility community service by The American Infertility Association and Perspectives Press: The Infertility and Adoption Publisher.
A Letter for Family and Friends is one woman's personal effort to share Infertility Awareness with those she loves.
Presentation Sunday is
last Sunday in January of each year. This link will show how one church has
taken this day and made it into a special prayer service for couples struggling
with fertility challenges. People come from miles around just to attend the
service, and more prayer requests come throughout the year from around the world
through letters, telephone calls, and email. Though many, many prayers have
already been said over the years by and for these couples, prayers uttered often
in tears in deep anguish, there is something special about a church that takes
time to come together as an entire body to pray specifically for barren wombs to
be filled.
Hannah prayed and pled before the Lord for years before the Lord
opened her womb. What made the day in the temple so different? I don't really
know, but I think in part it was the intervention of a man of God (Eli the
priest) who was willing to get involved and intercede before the Lord on her
behalf. As a church dedicated to prayer for infertile couples, Cedar Park sees
amazing results in new pregnancies, woman carrying to healthy birth when they
have only known miscarriage or stillbirth in the past, and wonderful adoption
stories after each year's prayer service. While no promises are made, and not
everyone prayed for has a miracle story to tell, this church's ministry is truly
unique, one I wish more churches would emulate! For those who do not receive a
child even after being prayed for, what comfort to know that this church
recognizes their anguish and will continue to pray and care!
London's Infertility Awareness Campaign
Infertility Awareness Association of Canada
RESOLVE is sponsoring National Infertility Awareness Week®, October 7-13, 2001 with this year's topic "The Need for Partnership."
On Wednesday, October 10th, RESOLVE is hosting Congressional Insight, a non-partisan computer simulation that allows you to experience the range of issues and choices a member of Congress faces over a two-year period. This exciting Political/Educational tool will immerse you in the real life experience of the legislative process.
Other Exciting Events during National Infertility Awareness Week®
Thursday, October 11, 2001
Advocacy Day
Washington, D.C.
Attend a workshop on effective advocacy, followed by appointments with legislators to advocate for family-building legislation.
Sunday, October 14, 2001
National Symposium
New York City, NY
RESOLVE’s premiere conference on the issues surrounding infertility. Choose from more than 50 workshops on treatment, adoption and resolution without parenting.
1999 Events Listings - information, resources, and ideas for observing Awareness Week presented by About.com (formerly The Mining Company).
History of INCIID (InterNational Council on Infertility Information Dissemination - pronounced "inside") INCIID was conceived in October, 1994 during National Infertility Awareness Week. This link is an interview with INCIID's president, Theresa Venet Grant. Very informative page highlighting not only INCIID's history, but also sharing some excellent infertility information.
September 5, 1997 Infertility Awareness Week - University of Florida
Pregnancy Loss, Infant Death, SIDS
Impact and Statistics | October - Awareness Month | Ongoing Awareness | Observances | December - Children's Memorial Day | International | History
Turn to me and be gracious to
me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart have multiplied;
free me from my anguish. Look upon my affliction and my distress...
Psalm 25:16-18a (NIV)
How Miscarriage, Stillbirth, or
Infant Death Impact Lives & Statistics of Loss
Loss can occur in so many different ways at so many stages. Some pregnancy losses occur when a baby fails to properly implant in its mother's womb, when a baby implants in the wrong place causing ectopic pregnancy, when a baby fails to develop within an empty sack with a blighted ovum, or when the pregnancy turns out to be molar. Losses can happen during any trimester of the pregnancy and for reasons as vague as "sometimes it just happens" or as specific a mother's body malfunctioning (incompetent cervix, uterine abnormalities, etc.) or chromosomal abnormalities and other improper development of the child. Stillbirth can be the devastating end to an otherwise healthy pregnancy or to one that was troubled from the start. And the death of an already born infant, whether sudden and unexpected, or as the end to a long hard struggle through pregnancy and/or a few days or months outside the womb, is a pain that has no equal.
Understanding Bereaved Parents is a great starting point for anyone who wishes to better understand, emotionally support, or encourage a friend, family member, coworker, patient, church member, associate, or other acquaintance who has suffered the loss of a child during pregnancy or infancy. When the loss comes early in pregnancy, many people do not acknowledge the tiny, developing baby as a "real" person and bereaved parents are left to suffer alone. The information in this link will help you to see that, no matter how early in pregnancy or what stage of infancy loss occurred, your friend is grieving the death of a baby!
Miscarriage is a loss that occurs before the 20th week of pregnancy. Stillbirth is the death of a baby after the 20th week of pregnancy but prior to delivery. Most often the death of a stillborn child is detected while the baby is still in the mother's uterus, but sometimes not until labor is underway. "Stillbirth and miscarriage are separately defined, not because one is an easier or more difficult loss with which to deal, but because they differ in many ways. Stillbirth and miscarriage have different causes, need different evaluations, and differ medically and in the ways that parents and families can best be helped."
Each kind of loss "occurs in families of all races, religions, and income levels. Each year in the United States about 25,000 babies, or 68 babies every day, are born still. This is about 1 stillbirth in every 115 births. Something as common as this will, at some point, directly or indirectly touch the lives of many people. A friend, a relative, or you, yourself, may experience stillbirth." The cause of a stillbirth can only be identified in 40%-50% of all cases. "Identifiable causes of stillbirth generally fall into one of three different categories: birth defects in the baby, problems with the placenta or umbilical cord, or maternal illnesses or conditions which may sometimes affect pregnancy." There are also many rare causes of stillbirth. "Stillbirths are usually not caused by something parents or family members did or did not do." After the loss of one child to stillbirth, the average chance for stillbirth to recur in a next pregnancy is approximately 3%.
(The above quotations were compiled from Helping When The Least Expected Happens, an educational pamphlet produced by the Wisconsin Stillbirth Service Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison Clinical Genetics Center, 1500 Highland Avenue Madison, WI 53705-2280; Phone: 608-262-9722)
Hannah's Prayer Pregnancy/Infant Loss Links
October - "Pregnancy and Infant
Loss Awareness Month"
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan
proclaimed October as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month
throughout the United States.
Click on logo to visit rememberance website.
"Planning and attending October
Awareness Month activities is a great comfort for many. It assures us that our
babies are not forgotten. In raising Awareness we are helping the bereaved
parents who will follow us on our grief journey. What a wonderful way to honor
the memory of our special babies."
(Aug./Sept.
'91,Loving Armsnewsletter, Pregnancy and Infant Loss Center, Inc., 1421
E. Wayzata Blvd., #30 Wayzata, MN 55391 or call 612-473-9372.)
Special
thanks to Donna Roehl whose research through several back issues of the Loving
Arms newsletter made it possible to share much of the information about
Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month and the history of this event that is
presented on this web page.
You will find additional information about the history of "Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month", in Past Observances.
H.A.N.D. Annual Remembrance Ceremony - The 2003 ceremony in Houston, Texas is set for Sunday October 19 at 2 p.m, in Bellaire Park.
M.E.N.D. (Mommies Enduring Neonatal Death) hosts yearly special events including their October Walk to Remember and December Christmas Candlelight Ceremony. Call 1-888-695-MEND for more information. The 5th annual Walk To Remember will be held on Saturday, October 27, 2001 at 3:00 p.m., Andy Brown Park East in Coppell, TX.
AngelEyes Card Shoppe shares a special line of email comfort and encouragement cards in honor of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month.
Why Have an Awareness Month?
Here are some answers from The Pregnancy and Infant Loss Center's Loving
Arms newsletter (Fall '84, Aug./Sept. '91):
Why does anyone need to be made aware of such a
subject as this? Why plan activities aimed at community awareness?
First of
all, these types of losses occur much more often in our country than people
might believe. Close to a million families are hit by this tragedy each year.
One of every 100 births ends with a stillborn baby and almost 1 of every 100
births results in a baby that dies during the first 28 days of life (not
including SIDS which occurs 2 per 100) and approximately 15-25 percent of all
documented conceptions end in miscarriage. Chances are, we all know someone who
has been down this road.
Secondly, this problem is one of the most
misunderstood "accidents," often viewed as an unfortunate, but minor,
nonevent by those outside the family. Not everyone understands the emotional
investment parents put into their unborn children, in some cases even before
that child is conceived. The hopes, dreams, plans, love and anticipation are
real, even if no one has yet seen this child.
Families who suffer this
tragedy need sensitive caregivers, understanding friends and supportive family
members.
Yes, awareness is important. A supportive environment can make all
the difference in how parents incorporate this loss, this precious child, into
their lives in a healthy manner.
Why Have an Awareness Month?
Because life, even the tiniest life, is special Because life, even the tiniest life, must be remembered Because parents want to remember Because grieving parents need sensitive doctors, nurses,
clergy, funeral directors and families Because the
larger community needs to be reminded that infant losses occur often Because the larger community needs to know how to help
grieving families Because the larger community
needs to be reminded that life, even the tiniest life, is special
Awareness Month Observance Ideas
from The Pregnancy and Infant Loss Center's Loving Arms newsletter
(Fall '91, Sept./Oct. '92):
Notices in church
bulletins, newspapers, and a focus by local media can bring great comfort to
grieving families. Here is a sample press release. Life can be the same after the loss of a trinket but
never after the loss of a treasure. Each year over 1 million of God's treasures
are lost though miscarriage, stillbirth and infant death. These little
treasures are lovingly remembered by their grieving families. During October,
which is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, please hold all
bereaved families who have lost children (of any age) in your prayers! For
more information, support, resources, or to make a donation in memory of a
special child, please contact [local support group information here].
More awareness, memorial and observance ideas include: Plan a newsworthy activity to get publicity and draw
attention to your cause. Write an article and submit it to your local papers.
A letter to your local media should include names of real people with real
stories they would be willing to share. Plan a
memorial service or "service of remembrance" for babies who have been
miscarried, stillborn, or suffered death in infancy. Such an event may include
a tree planting ceremony, dedication of a park bench, or other such memorial. Make posters or flyers to display at churches, medical
facilities, stores, and other public places and promote your local support
group. Conduct community workshops. Invite
clergy, funeral directors, medical professionals, bereaved parents, media, and
the general public. Contact your mayor, governor
and legislators about issues related to this special month. Conduct a fund-raiser for an area support group or
organization. A raffle, garage sale, bake sale, car wash or ????? is a great
way to raise awareness as well as raising funds.
More Awareness and Memorial
Observances
M.E.N.D. (Mommies Enduring Neonatal Death) hosts yearly special events including their October Walk to Remember and December Christmas Candlelight Ceremony Call 1-888-695-MEND for more information.
Presentation Sunday is
last Sunday in January of each year. This link will show how one church has
taken this day and made it into a special prayer service for couples struggling
with fertility challenges. People come from miles around just to attend the
service, and more prayer requests come throughout the year from around the world
through letters, telephone calls, and email. Though many, many prayers have
already been said over the years by and for these couples, prayers uttered often
in tears in deep anguish, there is something special about a church that takes
time to come together as an entire body to pray specifically for barren wombs to
be filled.
Hannah prayed and pled before the Lord for years before the Lord
opened her womb. What made the day in the temple so different? I don't really
know, but I think in part it was the intervention of a man of God (Eli the
priest) who was willing to get involved and intercede before the Lord on her
behalf. As a church dedicated to prayer for infertile couples, Cedar Park sees
amazing results in new pregnancies, woman carrying to healthy birth when they
have only known miscarriage or stillbirth in the past, and wonderful adoption
stories after each year's prayer service. While no promises are made, and not
everyone prayed for has a miracle story to tell, this church's ministry is truly
unique, one I wish more churches would emulate! For those who do not receive a
child even after being prayed for, what comfort to know that this church
recognizes their anguish and will continue to pray and care!
National (United States) Children's
Memorial Day
Please write your senators in support of S Res 109. With your support, the
second Sunday in December will be designated as a permanent day of
remembrance. The bill is at http://thomas.loc.gov For information on the history of
National Children's
Memorial Day, please visit the Compassionate Friends web site.
The Arizona National Children's Memorial Day Candle lighting
Service will be held Sunday, December 14, 2003 at 6:30 p.m. at 4715 N. Central
Road in the St. Francis Xavier Church (Note: This ceremony has no affiliation
with any religious group/s and is open to all families of all spiritual (or non)
backgrounds. Family and friends are welcome to attend with you. Please RSVP with
the number to attend by email to:
info@missfoundation.org.
If you have a piece of poetry, art, or other talent you'd like to share for
this event, please notify us immediately at joanne@missfoundation.org.
Click on image to visit website.
Fifth Annual Worldwide Candle Lighting - December 9, 2001, candles will be lighted at 7 PM in every time zone in memory of all children who have died. The candles will produce a "wave of light that will encircle the earth." As candles burn down in one time zone, it becomes 7 PM in another, creating a virtual 24-hour memorial.
December 13, 1998, as "National Children's Memorial Day".
105TH CONGRESS
S. RES. 193
2D SESSION
RESOLUTION
Whereas approximately 79,000 infants,
children, teenagers, and young adults die each year in the United States;
Whereas
the death of a child is one of the greatest tragedies suffered by a family; and
Whereas
support and understanding are critical to the healing process of a bereaved
family: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate -
(1) designates
December 13, 1998, as "National Children's Memorial Day"; and
(2)
requests that the President issue a proclamation designating December 13, 1998,
as "National Children's Memorial Day" and calls on the people of the
United States to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and activities in
remembrance of infants, children, teenagers, and young adults who have died.
In recognition of October as "SIDS and Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month", the SIDS Network's Internet Services have created a Celebrity On-line Auction to benefit SIDS awareness and education.
In the "Director's Column" of a Loving Arms
Newsletter, dating back more than a decade, we find an exciting
announcement by Susan Erling:
BIG NEWS! We have secured the
Presidential Proclamation, declaring October, 1998 as National Pregnancy and
Infant Loss Awareness Month. This unified, two-year effort has produced the
rewards we all had hoped it would by affording this cause top recognition and
acclaim. At PILC, we plan to use the proclamation throughout the upcoming year
to promote further awareness and activities. After six years of work,
educating, enlightening, and supporting each other, this Presidential
Proclamation is an impressive pat on the back for each of us. Personally, I
would like to extend a respectful thank you to Ronda Brown and Sherokee Ilse who
worked diligently on this effort, to Minnesota Senator Rudy Boschwitz, to
Pennsylvania Congressman Bud Shuster, and to all the legislators, groups, and
individuals who made this success story a reality. Thank you!
In fact, the history of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness goes back even farther than 1988. In a 1984 issue of Loving Arms it was stated that Minnesota "Governor Rudy Perpich will officially declare the week of October 1-7 as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Week."
SHARE Atlanta is holding memorial candle lightings on November 18, 1998 (for women) and December 2, 1998 (men and women). For more information, visit their web site or call (770) 928-9603. (1999 dates will be added when we know them.)
"Pathways of Healing" was the 1998 Memorial Celebration with a Pathway Dedication of SHARE of Atlanta, GA. "The gravel walk in front of the bench and garden will be replaced with the "name & memory" brick pathway! A special new addition to the service will be the litany of names read aloud at the beginning of the service."
SHARE Atlanta's 1997 Memorial Celebration - Remembrance Bench and Garden
1997 Central Baptist Hospital "Walk to Remember" at Lexington, Kentucky Cemetery
H.A.N.D. Annual Remembrance Ceremony - The 1989 through the present, Houston, Texas.
Information & Attitudes | Resources | November - Awareness Month | International | History
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons
of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you
received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if
indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Romans 8:14-17 (NKJV)
Information & Developing
Healthy Adoption Attitudes
Hannah's Prayer Adoption Links
Using Respectful Adoption Language
Awareness Issues and Resources
Hannah's Prayer Adoption Resources
Adoptive Parent Groups - National Adoption Information Clearinghouse
November as Adoption Awareness Month
National
Adoption Awareness Month
Information and resources from Bethany Christian
Services
Observing Adoption Awareness Month "For over 20 years adoptive families organizations (and eventually the entire adoption community) have observed November as Adoption Awareness Month. Originally and historically, the purpose of AAM was to dispel myths about and focus on the normalcy of adoptive family life, as well as to call attention to the need for homes for hundreds of thousands of waiting North American children. AAM is about celebration and gratitude and hope, not about anger and disillusionment. It has become a popular time to hold adoption fairs and conferences, plan political action events, and more. But such large events take significant budget and energy--not to mention many months of pre-planning, done most often by well organized, multi-staff or volunteer agencies or groups."
1995, Nova Scotia
| StepFamilies | Endometriosis |
Celebrate National Stepfamily Day: A Dedication To American Stepfamilies
Almost half of all marriages in the U.S.A. are remarriages.
September 16th is Stepfamily Day! Working with all 50 Governors, State
Senators and State Representatives, 38 States proclaimed September 16th as
Stepfamily Day in 2000. Governors in additional states have committed to joining
the celebration this year. For more information, visit Stepfamily
Association of America.
The third National Stepfamily Day Picnic will be held this year on Sunday,
September 16th in recognition of Stepfamily Day. Back yards and neighborhood
parks will be filled with stepfamilies celebrating their special relationships.
Many communities are supporting the festivities with food and games. This Day
will celebrate our lifestyle and the family members who worked so hard to bring
us to our stronger sense of commitment and caring. It will hail the triumph of
the stepfamily experience and the boundless love which is contained in the bond
between a large diversity of parents and children.
Do You Have a "Fertility Challenge"
Awareness Issue That Belongs Here? Email
the Webmaster!
Count reset April, 2003
Hannah's Prayer is a California based, non-profit 501(c)(3)
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Christians (from a range of denominational backgrounds) and have personal
experience with the heartache of fertility challenges. 
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