My name is Sarah Hackett, and my first child was stillborn on December 3, 2010. I had a very normal pregnancy, and when I started having contractions at 38 weeks, we were expecting to be welcoming our daughter into the world. We were shocked to learn that Brie had passed away. We discovered upon her birth that her umbilical cord had never formed fully. Sadly, this is something that has no cause, has no treatment and cannot be determined during pregnancy. Although she never took her first breath on this earth, she has greatly impacted many lives.
As I went through the first few weeks of grieving, I felt very alone. My husband and I met with a grief counselor and eventually began attending a regular grief group, "Memories" at Lexington Medical Center. The group really made a difference in how we both learned to deal with our grief and choose to keep going. There were many books that aided me in my grief journey, among them "A Rose in Heaven" by Dawn Siegrest Waltman, "Heaven is for Real" by Todd Burpo and "I Will Carry You" by Angie Smith.
"Mommy to Mommy Outreach" is a network of women helping women and supporting each other through a very difficult time. We are a branch of the Naomi's Circle support group in Columbia,SC (www.naomiscircle.org) and have started working with area hospitals donating "Embracing Evan" bears in honor of Evan Raper, born sleeping at 36 weeks as well as "Brie Bags" made in remembrance of my daughter Brie. Each bag contains a book on dealing with pregnancy loss, a brochure on Naomi's Circle support group and facebook group, a newborn baby cap for the baby to wear made especially for him/her and a tiny diaper.
For information on ways you can help with this outreach, feel free to email me at mommytomommy29073@gmail.com
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