Baby Loss Awareness Week: Honouring Lives, Supporting Families, and Raising Awareness

From 9th to 15th October, we observe Baby Loss Awareness Week, a time to honour the babies who are no longer with us and raise awareness for families who have experienced the heartbreak of baby loss. It’s also an opportunity to reflect on the strength of those navigating their grief and to celebrate the rainbow babies born after loss.

At iCandy, we are proud to work with many parents, including those who have sadly experienced the loss of a baby. We are committed to raising awareness about the support available to anyone going through this difficult journey. Baby Loss Awareness Week allows us to highlight the incredible work of clinics, research centres, and charities around the world that support families and help bring rainbow babies into their lives.

One such organisation is Tommy’s is the largest charity, the UK’s largest charity dedicated to researching pregnancy loss and premature birth. Tommy’s provides vital support, specialist care, and information for those affected by baby loss, helping thousands of families welcome their rainbow babies after loss. For more information or to join their baby loss support group on Facebook, visit their visit their website here.

Reaching out for help can be one of the hardest steps, but organisations like The Miscarriage Assocation, are there to support you. They offer a UK-wide network of volunteers who have personal experience with baby loss and can provide understanding and care. To learn more about their services, visit their website here.

It’s important to remember that no one has to go through this journey alone. During Baby Loss Awareness Week, some of our brave iCandy families have shared their personal stories and advice in the hope that it might help others.

Tara Burnett:

"As I write this, I can feel the tears welling up because Baby Loss Awareness Week holds so much meaning for us. Our daughter Winnie is our double rainbow baby. After losing two babies before her, there were times I thought we’d never be where we are today. It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions, from hitting rock bottom to slowly finding hope again, but we made it.

Losing a baby never leaves you. A little bit of your heart leaves too, but when your rainbow arrives, they come with bandages and plasters to help the wounds heal. It still hurts and I still think about our losses a lot, but I like to imagine that Winnie has literally wrapped my heart up and helped to ease the pain. She’s our little miracle and I know that her siblings live on through her.

To anyone who’s still waiting for their rainbow, we see you. My only tip is to never give up hope. Hope is the only thing that kept me going on the darkest days. Hope was the one thing that got me up in the morning and the one thing that helped me sleep at night.

You will never “get over” your losses but I promise in time things will get easier. I find a lot of comfort in visiting our babies memorials and we use their anniversaries as days we are allowed to feel sad and use them to honour their little lives however small they may have been, they left a huge hole in our lives.”