Parish Support

How to Explain to Siblings

Financial Assistance

Prayers, Novenas, and Devotions

Supporting a Friend

Additional Resources

What to do and what to expect after infant loss

First, please know that none of these suggestions or resources are required. These are simply a list of resources available to you in this difficult time.

We are so sorry for your loss. We hope these resources are helpful as you navigate this difficult time.

If you need more general information, this page offers straightforward steps for a range of situations. Another helpful place for information is Catholic Miscarriage Support.

if you are unsure what to expect or need more specific details, Lost Innocents Blog has an extensive blog post about the process of miscarrying a baby. Please note: this blog includes graphic language and photographs in order to provide women direct information about the miscarriage process.

Naming Your Baby

You can name your baby.

Sancta Nomina has a list of name suggestions for miscarried or stillborn babies.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has a prayer booklet for The Naming and Commendation of an Infant who Died Before Birth. You can ask your parish priest to pray this with you.

Burying Your Child

If you have remains to bury, Heaven’s Gain Ministry offers caskets and urns among several other resources. A Moms Peace also provides resources for burial.

If you do not have a local Catholic cemetery, the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe has a Memorial to the Unborn where you can entomb the remains of your baby. If you do not have remains to bury, you can also enroll your baby’s name in their digital wall.

The Shrine of the Holy Innocents is the World’s only Shrine of the Unborn and you can add your child to their Book of Life. Once they receive your information, you will receive a certificate for you to save as a keepsake.

For a safe place to ask questions and receive input from other parents who have lost babies, consider joining this Facebook Group. Eileen Tully also hosts a private community with retreats and workshops to help mothers heal emotionally after losing a child.

If you are struggling to explain infant loss to your living children, we created this picture book as a way to explain the role their lost sibling has now. It includes a dedication page where you can add your lost baby’s name. Red Bird Ministry offers extensive support to grieving families after an infant loss.

Financial Assistance

If you need assistance covering hospital bills or funeral costs, Benjamin’s Gift and The Fletcher Foundation are both ministries that provide financial assistance to families.

The Trappist Monks at New Melleray Abbey have a special Child Casket Fund where benefactors donate to help alleviate stress on families. Please reach out to the New Melleray Abbey for more information.

How to Explain Infant Loss to Children

It is incredibly difficult to explain infant loss to older siblings.

If you are struggling to explain to your older children why their sibling is gone, this picture book is a gentle way to help them through grief.

Little Jellybean, nicknamed by her family, experiences an exciting world of sound and sensations inside her mother’s womb, encountering the voices and personalities of her loving family. Just when she has nearly outgrown her mother’s belly, a surprising visitor guides her to a new home.

There, Jellybean is given a mission to help her family find meaning in their loss and ultimately join her in the presence of God.

“I read this book and broke down in tears. I had an early miscarriage, and this was such a beautiful way to envision that loss,” said Kelly, a mother of a miscarried baby. After reading this book, another mother said, “After I stopped crying, I thought of friends and relatives who would do well with this book. Jellybean will speak to those who have miscarried at any stage and those who have lost full term babies, infants, and even young children. We need help explaining and remembering God’s hand in the matter.”

Jellybean includes a dedication page where you can include the name of your lost infant and a prayer from the Liturgy for the Funeral of a Child Who Died before Baptism.

Support from your Parish

You can ask your parish priest to have a Mass said (Funeral for Children who Died before Baptism liturgy). You will usually be asked for the name of your baby to be included in the prayers of the Mass.

If having a Mass said is not an option, the Church has a special prayer for parents who have experienced an Infant Loss. You can ask your priest to pray this over you.

Parish Priests–here are some helpful ways to support your parishioners going through an infant loss:

You can offer this blessing to parents who have lost a child.

You can offer the order for the naming and commendation of an infant who died before birth (Archdiocese of St. Louis)

You can offer a Funeral for Children who Died before Baptism liturgy.

You can find lots of resources from the following Dioceses:

Prayers, Novenas, and Devotions

Saints to Know and Novenas to Pray for Miscarriage and Loss

Blessed is the Fruit of Thy Womb: Rosary Reflections on Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Loss

Infertility Stations of the Cross

The Seven So rrows of Miscarriage

Chaplet of Hannah’s Tears

Litany of the Saints

St. Gianna Beretta Molla Novena

Waiting with Mary: A Seven Sorrows Devotion for Women Facing Infertility

Mother Angelica’s Prayer

Lily of the Valley Ministry

“We are solely a prayer ministry aiming to give loss families the prayer tools they need to grow deeper in their faith through their grief instead of further away from the church.”

How to help a friend after a loss

- Send a card offering your condolences
  - - Wondering what to write inside the card? Here is a list of 10 comforting Catholic sentiments.
- Create or sign up for a mealtrain to help the family as they grieve
- Send a spiritual bouquet
  - these cards are also wonderful for your children to give to the older siblings who have lost a baby sibling.
- Send a memorial gift
  - - a prayer card (this one includes an Our Lady of Sorrows Prayer)
    - a print
    - a Christmas ornament
- Reach out via text or a phone call to let your friend know you are praying for them.
  - - Missing Grace Foundation offers a list of helpful things to say (along with some unhelpful things to avoid saying)
      - scroll down a bit on the page to “a message to family and friends”
- For more ideas on how to help, here are 20 more suggestions.