Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act

October 15th is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day in the United States.  I have had 4 miscarriages. Well, actually 2 miscarriages and 2 ectopic pregnancies. The point is I have 4 angels in heaven. I have not had a stillbirth. I think about it. I fear it. I can't even imagine it! I have a friend who had one last year and it was devastating! One day the baby was fine and then the a week later she was delivering a baby that was still.  There just are NO WORDS to say about the pain that it inflicts. My pain was and is the worst thing I have ever experienced in my life. The pain of still birth is unimaginable!! We need to create awareness. It is something that is not talked about. People need to know the signs, symptoms, proper medical care, and fetal movement awareness. For more information please readhttp://www.firstcandle.org/advocacy/Summary052108.pdf  Or http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.5979:.

Stillbirth is not an intractable problem. Greater research would likely significantly reduce its incidence, but good research requires good data. H.R. 5979: Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act is under consideration by Congress. This proposed bill would standardize stillbirth investigation and diagnosis, thus providing more data for the needed research. Better research means fewer children born still.

You may be asking what can you do? You can post a blog in support of this ACT or you can write your congress men and women. You can tell them to pass this Act: H.R. 5979: Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act. Tell them you do not want any more people, families, communities to go through this. Stop the pain. Mend some hearts. You can contact them by visiting this website: https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml

If there is something that can help reduce the chances of still birth then we should jump at it.  If research would make it possible for even just 1  person to be able to come home with a LIVE baby instead of the remains then it should not even be a questions of if, but of when and how. Please help save a life. 

Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act

Antigone is recruiting us to take action to spread awareness about pregnancy and infant loss.

I have not had a stillbirth, however, I have had 4 miscarriages and the pain is great. I can not even imagine the pain of stillbirth. It weighs heavily on my mind and I do not want anyone to have to go through this if there is a way do research and prevent it. So with that said...


October 15th is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day in the United States. More than 25,000 children are stillborn in the United States every year leaving mothers, entire families and communities devastated. Estimates of the rate of occurrence of stillbirth make it at least as common as autism.

Stillbirth is not an intractable problem. Greater research would likely significantly reduce its incidence, but good research requires good data. H.R. 5979: Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act is under consideration by Congress. This proposed bill would standardize stillbirth investigation and diagnosis, thus providing more data for the needed research. Better research means fewer children born still.

On October 15th, remember the thousands of unfinished children lost and the families who remain to grieve them. Honor them by taking action. Let's help pass H.R. 5979.

Action Steps:

Step 1. Use Your Blog to Enlist Others-Copy the contents of this entire post and publish it on your blog immediately.

GOAL: Enlist 10 of your readers to spread the word

Step 2. Use Your E-mail to Enlist Others-E-mail 5 bloggers and ask them (nicely and in an unspammy way) to publish these action steps on their blog. Consider contacting celebrity bloggers, political bloggers, medical bloggers, or bloggers who are not part of your reading community.

GOAL: Enlist 3 bloggers outside of your normal blog sphere to spread the word in other online communities.

Step 3. Help Pass the Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act-By October 15th, publish a post on your blog supporting H.R. 5979 Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act. For maximum impact, title your post: "Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act."

GOAL: 1,000,000 Google results on October 15th when that term is searched for. Currently, Google only returns 20,400 pages - most of which have nothing to do with the bill.