Handmade Pillows Comfort Mothers Who Suffer Early Pregnancy Loss

by Jyl Johnson Pattee on May 24th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Maureen Day knows what it feels like to experience the joy of pregnancy and the heartbreak of losing that unborn child.

Already a mom to 4 children, Maureen found out she was expecting a new baby in the summer of 2003. She and her husband shared the news with the family - kids ranging in age from 7 to 20 years old. While it was a surprise, everyone quickly embraced the idea.

But their happiness was short lived. In September, Maureen discovered the baby had no heartbeat. She was surprised by the depth of the emotional pain that came with losing that child.

projectpillows1 For weeks, she worked her way through the greiving process, only to find that she wanted to come up with a tangible way to help other mothers suffering as she was. And so it was that she created HeavenBorn - a non-profit project that provides booklets and handmade pillows to women who have suffered an early pregnancy loss. The simple booklet provides information on how to handle the physical and emotional challenges of this grief. And, the hope is that the pillow will provide a tangible source of comfort.

Maureen hopes to take moms through the stages she believes will help them to cope with their loss: feel, grieve, hope, remember. She creates the pillows by hand with the help of some generous women. It is her goal to make these pillows available to all mothers who experience this type of tragedy.

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Many of the HeavenBorn pillows are now being given to mothers in local hospitals at their time of loss. HeavenBorn exists solely based on donations and volunteers who donate their time to create these small tokens of love. If you would like to donate your time...or you are interested in starting a HeavenBorn chapter in your area, email Maureen at [email protected].

Know a “Mom It Forward” mom—someone who inspires you, gives back to others, is changing the world one mom at a time? Nominate her to be spotlighted in our “Be Inspired!” section by writing us at momitforward [at] gmail [dot] com.

About the Author: Danielle Smith is a mommy to two smart and sassy small people, as well as the founder and primary author of ExtraordinaryMommy.com. You can catch her hosting a brand new live show, The Spin Cycle, on MomTV.com every Wednesday at 9pmEST. She also hosts a show on Blog Talk Radio and contributes to WhyMomsMatter and ChicksWhoConnect. Danielle is thrilled to be contributing to MomItForward - as ‘giving back’ has always been an important part of who she is and what she hopes to teach her children.

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Jyl Johnson Pattee

An active part of the Mom It Forward team, Jyl primarily writes about parenting, social good, and all things travel related. In a past life, Jyl was an award-winning copywriter and designer of corporate training programs for Fortune 100 companies. Offline, Jyl is married to @TroyPattee; a mom to two teen boys and a beagle named #Hashtag; loves large amounts of cheese, dancing, and traveling; and lives in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Topping her bucket list is the goal to visit 50 countries by the time she's 50.