Having three children die before birth is the toughest thing Jenn Hamborg has gone through.
Hamborg is a mother of three, but she has also lost three babies during their first trimester. She said parents who have a baby die in pregnancy, delivery or infancy, feel alone.
“You feel lonely, lost and confused. That’s just a small portion of what you go through.
“You don’t just lose a baby, you lose a first birthday, you lose a family Christmas. There is so much heartache that goes with the grief,” she said.
In 2014, Hamborg founded Healing Hearts, a group supporting Central Alberta families who have lost babies.
“I found there wasn’t a ton of support out there in Central Alberta,” she said. “I wanted to reach out to other people in the same situation so they wouldn’t feel the same way I felt.”
Healing Hearts will host its second Wave of Light event at Westerner Park’s Holiday Inn Chalet on Monday. The event features a candlelight vigil, a reading of names and music to remember babies who have died.
People across the world will light candles in memory of their babies Monday. About 40 people attended the first Wave of Light in Red Deer this past year.
“Knowing you’re not alone and knowing it’s not just you is so important. There is support out there and you’re not alone in your journey.
“The more people we can reach, the better,” she said. “This is a way we can honour those precious babies. There aren’t a lot of ways or places you can go and do that. I’m honoured to host an event for these families.”
Some people disregard pregnancy loss because “they may think it wasn’t a real baby,” said Hamborg.
“When you see those two pink lines, you start to hope and dream about the child,” she said, referring to when parents first learn they’re expecting a baby. “Then when you lose the child, you lose those dreams,” she said.
Hamborg is also a birth and bereavement doula.
For more information on the Wave of Light, or to have a baby’s name read at the event, visit www.healingheartscommunity.com or www.facebook.com/healingheartsbereavementcommunity.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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