Baby Loss Awareness Week 9 - 15 October 2025

Some of us may be acutely aware of this week, the week in which nationally, greater awareness is given to the sadness and trauma experienced in baby loss. This week can be a precious reminder of those moments, days, weeks, months we were pregnant, carrying a baby within and experiencing a myriad of emotions, feelings and sensations. Or it can be an intense painful reminder of what we had but do not have now. Whichever it is, and it can be both, we can offer ourselves kindness, care and nurture. As emotions are felt, tears may come along with other expressions of sorrow and sadness, let them come, they have their place and task to accomplish.

We can use any grounding skills we know to help regulate and ground ourselves in the present moment, whilst recognising past memories. Mindfulness and breathing techniques (as in my previous blog) can support us. Maybe create a sensory bag of favourite calming items which engage our senses helping to hold us in the here and now - eg. a soft piece of velvet or fabric, a chewy sweet, crunchy apple, fragrant hand cream or body spray, chocolate, a fidget toy, elastic hair band, a playlist of our favourite songs, a photo of our favourite safe place or most comforting person…we all have our own ideas of what helps to bring us comfort and calm.

Joining in with any local acts of remembrance may be helpful and we may also like to create personal moments of remembrance, time to light a candle, plant a flower or tree, paint a pebble, create some artwork or start a knitting or crochet project,write a poem or story, bake a favourite cake or cook a special meal, visit a special place. Creating rituals can be immensely comforting as we recognise those continuing bonds of love. So, during this week, let us look after ourselves, embrace self-care, self-compassion and self-nurture to balance and hold those intense emotions which may make themselves known.