x
Breaking News
More () »

'It's the loss of your baby, it's the loss of hopes and dreams' | October marks Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month

Up to 15 percent of known pregnancies will end in a miscarriage. There are resources in East Tennessee for families who lose a baby before or after pregnancy.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, but for families who've experienced this kind of loss, it lives with them every day.

March of Dimes said most miscarriages happen in the first trimester.

For women who know they're pregnant, about 10 to 15 percent of pregnancies end in miscarriage.

Most women who miscarry will later go on to have a healthy pregnancy.

Model Chrissy Teigen announced this week she lost her third child with husband John Legend after pregnancy complications.

After sharing her story, more women are speaking out about losses of their own

"It makes a lot of people uncomfortable but the more we talk about it the more we're going to break down those walls," said Lauren Morgan.

Morgan's son Gabriel died just hours after being born in 2013.

Now, through her advocacy and support group called Project Gabriel, she's helping women cope with their own losses.

"It's the loss of your baby. It's the loss of hopes and dreams. It's all of this stuff that you're having to grieve," she said.

One of our favorite yearly events is coming up, and this year we are taking the event virtual! Join us online as we...

Posted by Project Gabriel on Friday, September 25, 2020

Infant loss is tragic, but not rare.

Dr. Leonard Brabson, Medical Director of the Birthing Center at Tennova North, said miscarriages are more common in older mothers.

He said it's important for women to know infant loss isn't their fault.

"People have a lot of guilt," he said. "Automatically they just think they've done something wrong that's caused it. Of course that's usually not the case."

Morgan said talking about infant loss can truly help families cope.

"Don't not mention it when it's happened because you don't want to hurt them. They're already hurting, so let's just talk about it," she said.

She thinks Teigen's announcement is having an impact on women already.

"I think when you see Chrissy talk about it, it helps to be like, okay well she's saying this, she's talking about it, so it's okay for me to as well," she said.

Morgan hopes more women learn they don't have to go through the loss of a child alone.

"Being there for people who are going through it is so important," she said. "It means the world to the person who's grieving."

Before You Leave, Check This Out