Infant Loss Awareness Month is observed every October in the United States to honor babies who died through miscarriage, stillbirth, TFMR, or newborn loss, and the families who love them. October 15 is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. For many parents, it is one of the few times grief for a baby is spoken out loud instead of carried quietly.

If October feels complicated, that makes sense. You may want your baby remembered while also wanting to look away from every pregnancy loss awareness post in your feed. There is no single right way to move through this month, and you do not have to make your grief visible for your baby to matter.

Key Takeaways

• Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month is observed every October.
• October 15 is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day.
• Miscarriage, stillbirth, TFMR, and newborn loss all deserve acknowledgment.
• October can bring comfort, connection, sadness, anger, or several feelings at once.
• You can honor your baby privately or with your community.
• There is no timeline for grieving a baby.

Table of Contents

• • Why Is October Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month?
  • Why Can This Month Feel Comforting and Painful at the Same Time?
  • Does My Loss Count During Infant Loss Awareness Month?
  • What Is the Walk to Remember in Asheville?
  • What Are Gentle Ways to Honor Your Baby This October?
  • How Can Friends and Family Support Someone After Pregnancy or Infant Loss?
  • When Might Grief Support or Therapy Help After a Loss?
  • Frequently Asked Questions

Why Is October Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month?

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month because it is a dedicated time to recognize babies who died during pregnancy or infancy and the families who continue to carry their memory. The United States first designated October as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month in 1988, creating public space for a kind of grief that had too often remained private.

North Carolina continues to recognize the month today. In 2026, the state officially proclaimed October as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month and October 15 as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day.

That recognition matters because pregnancy and infant loss can be difficult for other people to see. There may be few photographs, memories, or milestones that friends and extended family shared with you. Yet your relationship with your baby, and your grief when that relationship changed, can be profound.

An awareness month cannot make that grief disappear. It can, however, make room to say something many grieving parents need to hear: your baby existed, your love mattered, and your grief deserves space.

Why Can This Month Feel Comforting and Painful at the Same Time?

Infant Loss Awareness Month can feel comforting and painful because public remembrance can bring both connection and fresh reminders of what you lost. You may feel grateful that people are finally talking about pregnancy loss and then find yourself unexpectedly overwhelmed by a candle photo, a baby’s name, or someone else’s story.

You may also discover that your feelings change from one October to another. One year, you may want to attend a remembrance event and tell people about your baby. Another year, you may want to stay home and keep the day entirely to yourself.

Neither response says anything about how much you love your baby.

Grief does not follow a calendar. An anniversary, due date, birthday, changing season, or October awareness post can bring feelings closer to the surface even when your loss happened many years ago. You do not have to be “over it” because time has passed.

Does My Loss Count During Infant Loss Awareness Month?

Yes, your loss counts during Infant Loss Awareness Month whether your baby died through an early miscarriage, later miscarriage, stillbirth, TFMR, or newborn loss. You do not have to reach a certain week of pregnancy, have held your baby, or have memories that other people can see for your grief to be real.

This can be especially important after an early pregnancy loss. You may have heard comments such as, “At least it was early,” or felt that you were expected to move on quickly. But early does not mean insignificant.

The emotional effects of pregnancy loss can also last much longer than people around you realize. A prospective cohort study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that symptoms of post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression could persist for months following miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy.

TFMR can carry its own layers of grief, too. You may be grieving your baby while carrying memories of medical appointments, impossible decisions, or a sense that other people do not understand what happened. You belong in conversations about pregnancy and infant loss without having to defend or explain your experience.

What Is the Walk to Remember in Asheville?

The Walk to Remember in Asheville is a gathering where families can come together to honor babies who died and spend time with people who understand that their babies are still part of their stories. This year’s walk is Sunday, October 11, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Asheville Botanical Garden Gazebo.

For some parents, walking beside another mother, father, grandparent, sibling, or loved one can make an isolating experience feel a little less lonely. You do not have to arrive with the right words or be at a particular point in your grief.

You can come because you want to say your baby’s name. You can come because you are not ready to say anything at all. You can also bring someone who loves you and remembers your baby with you.

And if attending a remembrance event feels too tender this year, you can honor your baby another way. There is no attendance requirement for grief.

What Are Gentle Ways to Honor Your Baby This October?

Gentle ways to honor your baby can be as simple as lighting a candle, saying your baby’s name, visiting a meaningful place, or setting aside a few quiet minutes to remember. The right ritual is the one that feels meaningful to you rather than the one you think you are supposed to choose.

You might write your baby a letter, plant something, make a donation in their memory, frame an ultrasound image, wear a meaningful piece of jewelry, or cook a meal that brings you comfort. You might take a walk somewhere beautiful in Western North Carolina and let that time belong to you and your baby.

October 15 also offers a shared moment of remembrance. During the International Wave of Light, families around the world are invited to light a candle at 7 p.m. in their local time zone in memory of babies who died.

Your remembrance can also be completely private. You do not have to post a photograph, explain your story, attend an event, or tell anyone what you are doing. A quiet ritual that only you know about can carry just as much love.

How Can Friends and Family Support Someone After Pregnancy or Infant Loss?

Friends and family can support someone after pregnancy or infant loss by acknowledging the baby, listening without trying to fix the grief, and continuing to show up after the first few weeks have passed. Often, one of the most meaningful things you can do is remember when the rest of the world seems to have moved on.

If the baby has a name, use it when the parent has indicated that they feel welcome. Remember important dates. Send a simple message in October that says, “I’m thinking about you and your baby today.”

Try not to search for a silver lining. A grieving parent may not need to hear that another pregnancy is possible or that everything happens for a reason. She may simply need someone willing to sit beside the truth that she loved her baby and wishes her baby were here.

Support can also be practical. Bring dinner, take care of an errand, offer childcare, or invite her on a walk without expecting her to talk about the loss. Give her room to say yes, no, or not today.

When Might Grief Support or Therapy Help After a Loss?

Grief support or therapy may help when you want a place where you can talk honestly about your baby and your loss without worrying about making anyone else uncomfortable. You do not need to reach a certain level of distress before you are “allowed” to ask for support.

You may want therapy because your mind keeps returning to what happened. You may feel angry at your body, anxious about another pregnancy, disconnected from people you love, or exhausted from acting as though you are doing better than you feel.

Specialized grief and trauma therapy in Asheville can give you room to explore those experiences without asking you to leave your relationship with your baby behind. Grief work is not about forgetting, erasing, or finding a neat ending to your story.

It is also okay to seek support years after a loss. A new pregnancy, another child reaching the age your baby never did, a milestone anniversary, or simply another October can bring old grief into a new season of life. There is no expiration date on needing a place to talk about your baby.

You don’t have to carry this October alone. Join us at the Walk to Remember on Sunday, October 11, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Asheville Botanical Garden Gazebo, and walk alongside other families honoring their babies. If you’d like support beyond the walk, Dr. Katherine Hyde-Hensley offers sessions in person in Asheville and by telehealth anywhere in North Carolina.

Reach out to Dr. Katherine Hyde-Hensley.

Frequently Asked Questions

About Dr. Katherine Hyde-Hensley

Dr. Katherine Hyde-Hensley is a perinatal psychologist in Asheville, NC, supporting women through pregnancy loss, stillbirth, TFMR, infertility, birth trauma, and the transitions of motherhood and midlife. She draws on Narrative Therapy, CBT, and DBT and is also a certified birth, postpartum, and palliative doula. As a stillbirth parent and Postpartum Support International board member, she offers care shaped by both clinical expertise and lived experience, in person in Asheville and by telehealth across North Carolina.

If you would like a compassionate place to talk about your loss and honor your baby, reach out to Dr. Katherine Hyde-Hensley.