September 28, 2006 Congress passed H.CON.RES.222.- October 15h as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day.
Here's info about that resolution...
H.CON.RES.222 Passes in Congress supporting the Goals and Ideals of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, October 15th of every year
Too many parents grieve in silence when suffering a pregnancy or infant loss. 983,000 babies died in 1996 from miscarriage or stillbirth. In 1995, 15.7% of pregnancies ended in fetal demise (miscarriage or stillbirth). These statistics do not include neonatal loss, SIDS, or other causes. (Center for Disease Control Trends in Pregnancies and Pregnancy Rates by Outcome Vital Health Stat (21) 56 - updated March 2001)
On September 28, 2006, Congressman Tom Latham from Iowa brought before the House of Representatives, House Concurrent Resolution # 222. The House Concurrent Resolution was passed in the House of Representatives supporting the goals and ideals of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. Many families watched this take place live on C-SPAN Television, watched live on the internet, and listened on news radio.
The House started out with several speakers including Georgia Representative Lynn Westmoreland, Illinois Representative Danny Davis, Iowa Representative Tom Latham, Georgia Representative Phil Gingrey, and ended with California Representative Brian Bilbray.
California Representative Brian Bilbray told of his own personal story 22 years ago. He and his wife lost their precious baby at the age of 3 months to crib death which is now known as SIDS. Soon after, they agreed to pass the House Resolution.
Quote by California Representative Brian Bilbray:
“Mr. BILBRAY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank Mr. LATHAM and both the majority and the minority for presenting this resolution today. I do not talk about a situation that occurred over 22 years ago in my family. Actually it was 22 years, 2 months ago that my wife and I lost our child at 3 months to crib death. I am sure you have got to believe that 22 years should be able to cover up the pain and the hurt and the scar. But it does not. And though we have been blessed with five healthy children, we will always have that missing spot that that little 3-month-old baby filled. But I want to thank you for today, and I stand up here today and speak of this matter to represent the men and women who have gone through what my family has gone through, and thank you for this.
If I may leave you with one message: more important than us grieving for
our losses of those young ones that have died and are not here today, the
best way for us to really remember them is to appreciate and worship and
thank God for the blessings of having healthy children and babies that we
can take care of. Because they truly are the best memorial for our babies that we have lost, by preserving and protecting the treasures that God has given us in healthy children.”
In honor of this day of rembrance, My Beautiful Angel Kit is free at KKD tonight through the 15th.
You can pick it up here. To all of you who have lost babies, my heart goes out to you. I know no greater pain that the pain of losing a child. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Hugs,
Karla
