A parent’s future dreams for their baby can all stop with a heartbeat. That is what happens each day when over 70 infants are stillborn. Half of these stillbirths occur in healthy babies who are near their due date, and one in six of those stillbirths happen during labor. Every day 13 babies die due to SIDS and other sudden unexpected infant deaths along with more than 80 babies die before their first birthday. Countless lives are lost due to miscarriage.

It is estimated that nearly two-thirds of all stillbirth deaths remain unexplained. There is still m-uch more research needed to understand perinatal and infant death. October is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. Please learn more at the M.I.S.S. Foundation, the International Stillbirth Alliance or many other websites, because it still happens today.

In August 2010, I lost my baby during naturally occurring labor. Yes, it happens even in pregnancies that are uneventful with an informed and caring mother. I researched every drug used in labor, all the cord bank companies, and even the fabric and seamstresses for cloth diapers. I did kick counts twice a day, went to the doctors twice a week and had almost 10 sonograms and biophysicals to make sure my baby was healthy.