Neonatal loss, premature birth, birth defects, SIDS, SUDI or a sleeping accident are some of the losses that may find you at this area of our support. What we know is that your baby breathed, and you had a limited amount of time with them while they were here on earth. Statistically we are advised that is a baby dying is rare in Australia however this does not make the pain and grief any less when you are part of that low statistic.
It is natural to want answers about why it happened, sometimes the answer is clear and other times there is a long wait while post-mortem examination and coroner reports are created. Sometimes, despite having every available test or examination it is sadly still not possible to find out why, adding more depth to the grief and confusion in how you find yourself here.
Some of the usual emotions felt by bereaved parents include guilt, anger, fear, blame and despair. This is often because the cause may be unknown or sudden or hope has been instilled that maybe the diagnosis is wrong. It is natural for a parent to come up with their own explanation for the tragedy and blame themselves.
It can be helpful for grieving parents to talk with people outside the family where they can be validated in their feelings that can be uncomfortable for those close to understand and hear. Bears of Hope provides support to hold you where you are at and help you work through the feelings that cannot be expressed in the openness with those around us that we love.
“Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible
and achieves the impossible.”
Anonymous