National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day is Oct. 15, and a Kosciusko woman is planning a local ceremony to mark the day.
Andrea Phillips has experienced the loss of a child through miscarriage and stillbirth, and those experiences have led her to plan a remembrance ceremony, which will be Thursday, Oct. 15, at 6:30 p.m. at the Mary Ricks Thornton Cultural Center in downtown Kosciusko.
“It is very hard for someone who has lost a child to talk about those feelings with others unless they have experienced the same thing,” Phillips said. “An event like this gives people who have experienced the loss of a child to share with others who know that they are going through.”
Along with the support gained from meeting others, the ceremony will also provide families the chance to remember and honor the children they have lost.
“Mothers love their children, even the ones they may not have gotten to hold or only held for a few seconds,” Phillips said. “The remembrance ceremony we attended after the loss of our daughter, Meadow, was very special for our family, and it is our hope that this ceremony will be special for people in Kosciusko and surrounding areas.”
The ceremony will include music, a brief address from Phillips and her husband, James, about their family’s experiences with child loss and candle lighting for parents to honor their children. The event is open to anyone who has suffered the loss of a child as well as his or her friends and family.
“At the time of the candle lighting, there will be a worldwide wave of light in recognition of pregnancy and infant loss,” Phillips said. “Know matter how small your baby was, he or she still had a purpose. That child was still your child and you will never forget them or stop loving them.”
