Australian Statistics & Key Points
- 1 in every 4 pregnancies end in πππ¨πππ§π§ππππ (loss up to 20 wks gestation)
- 6 babies are ππ©ππ‘π‘ππ€π§π£ everyday
- Approximately 2 πππ€π£ππ©ππ‘ πΏπππ©ππ¨ occur each day (loss following birth up to 28 days old)
- Up to 150 babies die from SIDSΒ each year
Pregnancy & Infant Loss doesnβt discriminate. We all know someone who knows someone that has lost a pregnancy/baby.
As a society we donβt do death well, let alone the death of a baby/infant.
When a woman or family lose a pregnancy/baby their grief is often disenfranchised which means that they are denied the right openly acknowledge or mourn their loss.Β Β As a result, pregnancy and infant loss is often misunderstood by those who are fortunate enough to not experience it.
As a result, this often causes the Bereaved Mother/Father and family to become isolated in both their loss and grief.
We need to stop measuring a woman or familyβs grief by the gestation at which they lost their baby.Β Love cannot be measured in days or weeks. Loss is loss regardless of gestation or circumstance and all pregnancy & infant losses are heartbreaking.
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My Personal Journey
My complex and devastating journey to parenthood has heartbreakingly included 3 Stillbirths, 8 Miscarriages and the loss of identical twin girls due to cord entanglement. See full details listed below.
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- Cooper Joseph Rowe - stillborn 14.02.2014
- Hudson James Rowe - stillborn 23.01.2015
- Emma & Zoe - identical twin girls who passed away due to cord entanglement 30.08.2015
- Miscarriages October 2016 & December 2016
- Miscarriages November 2017 & December 2017
- Noah Jensen Lyons - stillborn 06.10.2018
- Miscarriages June 2019 & September 2019
- Miscarriage - IVF Double Donor Embryo Transfer 24.12.2019
- Miscarriage - November 2020
My journey motivated me to become a passionate advocate for Pregnancy & Infant Loss.
Memories of an Angel (MOAA) is a self-funded social enterprise which my I founded following the stillbirth of my second son.
MOAAβs primary goal is to raise increased awareness for Pregnancy & Infant Loss.Β Additionally, we provide support and services to the women and families who heartbreakingly experience the loss of a pregnancy/baby/child.Β We specialise in a variety of awareness products and memorial keepsakes which help Bereaved Parents to honour the memory of their child.Β We also provide opportunities for Bereaved Parents to connect with other likeminded individuals through specialised workshops, catchups and social gatherings.
MOAAβs online community has been built to create a supportive and nurturing βsafe spaceβ for Bereaved Parents and consists of just shy of 25,000 members across 2 social media platforms.Β Β
We aim to provide support and opportunities for Bereaved Parents which we felt were missing during our journey.Β MOAA is an organisation that has been lovingly created by Bereaved Parents, for Bereaved Parents.
Whilst MOAA is mostly focused on supporting others, I do also share details of my personal journey in this space aswell. I use this platform to acknowledge on own babies special milestones (such as Angelversaries etc) like earlier last month when it was Noahβs 3rd Birthday and I purchased what would have been his first bicycle and helmet and donated it to a local charity which supports disadvantaged & underprivileged kids.Β I also created several gift bags full of sweets and placed them in a variety of local spots with a note saying that they had been created in loving memory of Noahβs 3rd Birthday.
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Next Steps
I am currently in the early stages of commencing International Surrogacy in Greece. As a single woman looking to embark on Surrogacy, there are much lesser options available to me than if I was still in a relationship. I am now working through the process of pulling together the required funds as the price tag is quite costly β 120K.Β The clinic I have selected is located in Crete and I have already had initial discussions with them. My plan is to hopefully lodge my Surrogacy application with the Greek court in early 2022.Β I am hopeful that this new approach will bring me my well overdue happy ending.