Thirty-four years ago, President Ronald Reagan and Congress named October Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. Their goal was “to increase our understanding of the great tragedy involved in the deaths of unborn and newborn babies” and to raise awareness of how to “meet the needs of bereaved parents.”
But I didn’t need the president of the United States to tell me about the grief of losing a child. Six months before the declaration, I lost my first of three children. Like many parents who lose a child, I felt confusion, grief, and sorrow. But unlike those who lose a child
