Special day offers support for parents who have lost infants
Individuals from Lethbridge and area gathered at Lethbridge City Hall to join with people from around the world for the International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day on Monday. It is a day of remembrance for pregnancy loss and infant death, which includes but not limited to miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS and the death of a newborn.
The day is observed annually on Oct. 15 in Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New South Wales, Norway, Italy and Kenya. They day honours those lost by observing with remembrance ceremonies and candlelighting vigils, concluding with the Lights of Love International Wave of Light which is a worldwide lighting of candles that spans the globe at 7 p.m. so a candle is lit for them all day.
Camille Chapman and her husband Randy decided it would be a good thing to bring to Lethbridge following their own experience of losing their son, Finn, to a rare condition called Preeclampsia, the leading cause of post maternal and fetal deaths.
“It is something my wife and I decided to start in the city here, because after our son passed away last year, we really noticed that nothing was going on in Lethbridge for it,” says Randy. “We know we are not the only people in the city who have lost their babies so we wanted to have something that would help reach those people, too, so that they know they are not alone because we felt extremely alone.”
The Chapman family shared their personal story of how they lost Finn at the vigil to help people who have been in a similar situation to speak more openly about their situations and find community support. Other presenters included a grief counsellor, a priest and other honorary speakers.
“I was diagnosed at 21 weeks pregnant, I carried him until I was 27 weeks and at that point the doctor said either he is going to die or you’re going to die, but either way one of you isn’t coming out of this alive,” says Camille. “He was delivered on Aug. 30, 2017 and he was born without a heartbeat at all so he didn’t make it, but we were able to spend six hours with him at the hospital before we had to let go. He is still very much a big part of our home and a big part of our lives.”
City hall was lit up in light pink and baby-blue colours along with the sea of support to remember the lost children. Infant death can be seen as a difficult topic to discuss among society, making the international event an open door into more public discussions about living through and dealing with infant death.
“It is sort of a taboo subject and that is part of the reason we wanted to go along, too,” says Randy. “Nobody wants to talk about infant death but it is obviously a very large part of our life along with many others so we wanted to let those people know that they aren’t alone and that there are people out there who have been through the same thing.”
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