When an Employee Loses a Baby

The death of an infant is perhaps the most difficult and wrenching tragedy any family can imagine. The effects can extend well outside the family - affecting colleagues, executives and your company at large. No one expects a baby to die. Babies mean the beginning of life, not the end. It's that contradiction that makes the death of a baby so alien to our understanding, so difficult to believe and accept.

When a baby dies, a bit of hope dies too, a bit of our dream breaks away, a bit of our future is erased before ever being written. Besides the physical loss, there is an emotional loss and a loss of all that a new life promises. This is true whether the baby died as a newborn or before birth due to miscarriage, stillbirth, or other reasons. Society has been slow to recognize that the impact on the parents can be the same, regardless of when the loss occurred. Parents' grief over a miscarriage is as valid and real as their grief over the loss of a full-term baby.

What You Can Do As An Employer

What do you say to an employee who has lost a child? It can be a traumatic and difficult time for everyone.You can help by offering your employee the March of Dimes bereavement materials. These one-of-a-kind materials were developed in conjunction with an expert advisory panel to assist parents who have experienced the loss of a child anytime from conception through the first month of life. They are available to companies in English and Spanish. Please call Carolyn Pizzuto at 914-997-4761, or email cpizzuto@marchofdimes.com for more information.