Amid the sudden pain and anguish of losing a new baby, whether by miscarriage, still birth or new born death, the question ‘What happens next?’ inevitably arises.
On December 10th, 2012 my partner and I were thrown into that abyss of hurt, anguish and pain that comes with the loss of a new baby or pregnancy. In our case, we were almost twelve weeks pregnant as we arrived to the early scan unit of the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin for a 2:30 pm appointment. Our world was turned upside down upon the news that there was no heartbeat. Our baby had died.
As devastating as that was, we sought some comfort in the fact that unlike years gone by, nowadays there is a service where families who experience this unimaginable loss can get to celebrate (ever so briefly) the life of their new baby or pregnancy with a very personal remembrance service. In the months and years since, I have longed to find ways to commemorate and pay respects to all families who have experienced new baby/pregnancy loss of this type.
Then comes the ‘What happens next?’ question.
What happens to our new babies who are lost by miscarriage, still-birth or new born deaths? Why has life failed them? Why has God failed them? There must be an understandable reason that these angels are chosen for something other than life. Then I looked up into the dark night sky with its millions of stars shining brightly down on us and...
Réalta – A New Star was born
