Today (October 15) is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day and a local not-for-profit organisation is providing support for bereaved families.
A Butterfly’s Embrace aims to share resources, help impacted members of the community connect and make changes in areas relating to pregnancy and infant loss.
The charity was founded in 2020 by Emu Heights resident Naomi Smith after she experienced the grief of losing a baby with her husband.
“On the 22nd of March, 2014, my life changed forever when I went to hospital at 37 weeks and three days to give birth to twins but after our daughter was born, with no success birthing our son, I needed to be rushed for an emergency caesarean,” Ms Smith said.
“My son Lucas’ cord had prolapsed during the delivery and as he was left unmonitored from the moment our daughter was born it meant he was cut off from oxygen until being delivered, which inevitably affected his brain and other organs.”
After spending 18 days in the Neonatal Intense Care Unit, Lucas passed away on April 9, 2014.
“Losing a baby is the rawest experience one can go through,” she said.
“It is being broken into a million pieces that will never be able to be put back together.”
After learning to live with her loss, Ms Smith was inspired to start the charity to help those with similar stories.
“I came across gaps in services and noticed little things that added to the grief we already have to face each and every day and wanted to remove some of that,” she said.
“I can’t help families save their baby, but if I can make the path even the slightest bit easier to walk, then I have succeeded.”
Ms Smith is currently looking for donations, including monetary or materials to construct the Butterfly Kisses Remembrance Garden.
“The Secret Garden and Nursery in Richmond has generously gifted us a large 182 square metre space for which we have designed a beautiful garden that is a heart within a heart,” she said.
“I wanted to create a space for families to be able to visit to get away from all the noise of the world and where they have the opportunity to meet other bereaved parents and create relationships.”
For more information, visit http://www.abutterflysembrace.com.
Emily Feszczuk
A graduate of Western Sydney University, Emily covers Local, State and Federal politics for the Weekender, as well as crime and general news.