It’s not how I expected life to play out. Three of my five children died—beginning with an infant son during a traumatic birth in 1976. Each loss was unexpected and uniquely devastating.
My daughter died from leukemia in 1995. My youngest son died in 2014 after a severe mental health crisis. Both losses shattered me completely.
But so did losing my infant son—and that’s what people don’t understand.
In this video, dedicated to my tiny boy who never took his first breath, I’m sharing what most people get so wrong about infant loss:
Losing an infant somehow hurts less than other losses. It’s simply not true.
Minimizing such a loss is another wound for parents who are already struggling with deep sadness.
Empathy means listening without measuring pain. Parents who’ve lost infants need space to speak their child’s name and tell their story.
This is an invitation to bear witness to a grief event that’s often minimized but never small.
With love and gratitude to my sister, Nikki, who helped me take the last small step in healing from this loss as you’ll hear in the video.
Marla
