Mother's Day With Empty Arms – Celebrating the Forgotten Mothers

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Tiny Footprints Miscarriage Memorial Necklace

I wanted bereaved moms to know that they are not alone, and to provide them with a way to celebrate and honor that life that they nurtured inside of them. I wanted them to know that their motherhood is recognized, and has value.

Charlottetown, PE (PRWEB) April 14, 2014

As Mother's Day approaches, the apprehension and discomfort of thousands of mothers who traditionally go uncelebrated on this day, increases. These are the mothers whose arms are empty this Mother's Day, their babies lost to miscarriage, stillbirth, and early infant death.

The loss of a baby during pregnancy, still a taboo subject in our society, leaves many bereaved moms without an outlet to express the grief they feel. While other mothers receive cards, gifts of flowers, and celebratory Sunday lunches on Mother's Day, the mother who has lost a child to miscarriage or stillbirth is left questioning whether or not she really was a mother at all.

It is for these forgotten mothers that Kimberly McIntyre, the artist behind LaBelleDame.com, created her unique line of memorial miscarriage jewelry. “I wanted bereaved moms to know that they are not alone, and to provide them with a way to celebrate and honor that life that they nurtured inside of them. I wanted them to know that their motherhood is recognized, and has value.”

LaBelleDame.com offers a full line of memorial miscarriage jewelry for bereaved mothers that does just that. From delicate and discreet forget-me-not pendants, to tiny baby footprints on a silver heart, each piece is customized to tell the story of a baby who was loved, no matter how long they lived.

“I still remember that first Mother's Day after I lost my baby,” recalls Kimberly, “It was seven months after I had lost my baby, and yet the grief hit me like a tidal wave. I was trying to celebrate the other moms in my life, but really I just felt like crawling back into bed and hiding under the blankets until it was all over. All I could think about was how I should have my baby in my arms. I so desperately wanted her to be remembered.”

Ms. McIntyre encourages family members and friends to reach out to bereaved mothers on this day, to let them know that they are not forgotten. “It is important for grieving mothers to know that you remember them. They held and nurtured their babies for every second of their lives. Oftentimes we think that if we talk about their baby and their loss that we will cause more pain and grief – when actually quite the opposite is true. I cannot begin to count how many letters I receive from mothers letting me know that my jewelry has helped them through the grief following their miscarriage, by allowing them to celebrate their baby and their motherhood, and by the simple gift of acknowledgement.”

Incorporating a lost child into Mother's Day celebrations is also meaningful to the mom who has both living children, and a baby who has died. “Moms tell me again and again that they want and need to celebrate mothering all of their children on that day. Don't think that just because she has a living child in her arms, that the baby she has lost is not also on her mind.”

This Mother’s Day, to support a loved one who has endured miscarriage, stillbirth or the loss of an infant, Ms. McIntyre suggests that friends and family send cards that acknowledge her as a mother, present a symbolic gift such as a customized piece of memorial jewelry, a plant for a memory garden, a white rose to remember her baby, or a journal for her to write in. “Above all,” McIntyre emphasizes, “Ask the mother how she would like to honor this special day.”

Kimberly McIntyre is the owner of http://www.LaBelleDame.com. She designs and crafts each piece of memorial jewelry and composes poetry for the included affirmation cards. LaBelleDame.com offers a wide variety of jewelry lines; fertility, pregnancy, baby, mother, and memorial.

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