
Infant Mortality and Pregnancy Loss
Family Resource Brief
Here you will find links to care, services, and support and websites for families about pregnancy loss, losing a baby, and grief.
Care, Services, and Support
- Compassionate
Friends: Grief Support After the Death of a Child.
Support via online
support groups and local
chapters to bereaved parents, grandparents, and siblings
who have experienced pregnancy loss or the death of a
child.
- First
Candle. A nationwide, 24-hour, toll-free
hotline for expectant and new parents on ways to help
their babies survive and thrive, for parents who have
experienced a pregnancy loss or the death of a baby,
and for professionals working with families. Telephone:
(800) 221-7437.
- Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) Hotline.
A hotline number to help pregnant women and mothers with
newborns identify free or low-cost services for themselves
and their babies. Telephone: (800) 311-2229 (311-BABY);
(800) 504-7081 (Spanish).
- Share
Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support, Inc: Find a Support
Group. Contact information for support groups in most states for grieving families.
- March
of Dimes (MOD): Pregnancy and Newborn Loss.
Information about ectopic and molar pregnancy, miscarriage,
neonatal death, and stillbirth.
- MedlinePlus. Links to information in
English and Spanish about miscarriage and stillbirth.
- Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Gateway: Pregnancy Loss, Miscarriage, Stillbirth.
Links to websites with information about pregnancy loss,
miscarriage, and stillbirth and about coping with your
loss.
Losing a Baby
- CJ Foundation
for SIDS. Information and materials about
SIDS and steps to reduce the risk for SIDS.
- MedlinePlus:
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Links to information
in English and Spanish about SIDS.
Grieving Families
- Compassionate
Friends: Grief Support After the Death of a Child.
Brochures for parents, grandparents, and siblings who
have experienced pregnancy loss and the death of a child.
Offers support via online
support groups and local chapters.
- First
Candle: Grieving Families. Articles, brochures,
and a hotline for families
who have experienced the death of a baby. Some brochures
are available in Spanish.
- Hospice: For
Patients and Families Facing Life-Threatening Illness.
Articles about coping with death, including
articles to help surviving children.
- March
of Dimes (MOD): Bereavement Materials. Articles
for families who have experienced a miscarriage, stillbirth,
or death of a baby. Resources explain grief, discuss
how to deal with your feelings and ask for help, and
suggest ways to remember your baby.
- Share
Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support, Inc.
Brochures in English
and Spanish for grieving families experiencing
pregnancy loss or the death of a baby, contact
information for local support groups, and an electronic
newsletter. Articles, training, and conferences for those
caring for bereaved families.
- Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Gateway: Bereavement Support.
A guide to resources for parents, families, caregivers,
and others touched by a baby's death.
Learn more about infant mortality and pregnancy loss and factors that increase the risk of infant death: birth defects, injuries, low birthweight and prematurity, preconception and pregnancy, and sleep environment.
Need more information? Use the collection of resources that library staff have put together for you and your family.
Infant Mortality and Pregnancy Loss: Family Resource Brief.
(November 2010). (Updated: March 2014).
Author: Susan Brune Lorenzo, M.L.S., MCH Digital Library.
Contributors: Jeanne Anastasi, M.A., Beth DeFrancis, M.L.S., and Tracy Lopez,
M.S.L.S., National SUID/SIDS Resource Center.
Reviewers: Suzanne Bronheim, Ph. D., National Center for Cultural Competence; Stacey D. Cunningham, M.S.W., M.P.H., National Healthy Start Association; Hanan Kallash, R.N., M.S., First Candle; Olivia K. Pickett, M.A., M.L.S., MCH Digital Library.
Editor: Ruth Barzel, M.A., MCH Digital Library.