Today begins National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. While I'm glad that there is a month devoted to our "cause", it's something we live with year-round, not just in October.
In past, I've read/heard comments about how October is so overrun with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month that everything else gets overshadowed. Well, I say that we shouldn't be surprised. Each and every month has been designated as some awareness month, and since there are so many causes out there and only 12 months of the year, some things are going to be overshadowed. Now, this is not to say that I LIKE that things are overshadowed, but is there, really, anything we can do about it?
No and Yes. We, those who have lost children during pregnancy and infancy, will never be in the "big" media. We will never be featured with blue/pink shoes, gloves and towels during an NFL football game and we will never have national celebrities in commercials for our organizations, but we live pregnancy and infant loss awareness all year long. So, while I will be partaking in some events this month specifically planned for National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, I'll also be trying to raise awareness all year long. It may be through trying to comfort and empower a newly bereaved family at our local support group. It may be through educating someone who knows not all of my kids are here. It may be through throwing out there the fact that I'm a bereaved mom and fielding questions, comments or awkward looks.
Because I live with my grief and loss all year long, I don't limit raising awareness to just October. I try to do it all year long.
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