Miscarriage Kits: Developed From Personal Experience
As a nurse here at the PRC, I was piloted to organize and develop a Miscarriage Kit. This is a free tool for women who may be at risk for miscarriage or are in the process of one. The kit was designed for women to be able to monitor the miscarriage process, as well as offer the choice for a dignifying burial for their baby. This kit is FREE and is available at participating local clinics and hospitals in our community. To learn more, click here.
The PRC of West Plains was able to team up with First Baptist Church Birch Tree who graciously donated the items, packed the kits, and some have shared their story of loss through miscarriage helping to write handwritten sympathy cards to be included in each kit.
As someone who has personally lost two babies in early miscarriage, I firsthand understand the emotions, the confusion, the delayed grief, and the questioning why. My second miscarriage happened during a women’s retreat where I presented the idea of making these kits with the ladies at FBC Birch Tree. I remember seeing the blood and praying that it wasn’t a miscarriage. The next day after my return, the bleeding increased, and my heart sank as I messaged the other nurse here at the PRC about my symptoms. She lovingly offered me support and compassion.
The days that followed had me searching to see if I could find my baby. This is hard to type, but I would place gloves on to examine the contents in the toilet to be sure I didn’t flush my baby. That I wanted to see the baby and bury my baby. I unfortunately did not recover my baby’s remains. I considered what we were developing here and so wish that I used the kit at the first signs I had. However, God is so good and gracious to help me through the grief and see the need for the kits for others who experience what I was experiencing. That they are not alone!
God reminded me who He was! That He made my baby and numbered my baby’s days with purpose. That He is trustworthy and that my baby was in His caring hands now. As I was grieving, He led me to His word:
For You formed my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works,
and I know this very well. My frame was not hidden from You
when I was made in secret, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book
and ordained for me before one of them came to be. How precious to me are Your
Thoughts, O God, how vast is their sum! If I were to count them, they would out
number the grains of sand; and when I awake, I am still with You.
Psalm 139:13-18
While this topic can be hard to discuss, we believe it is an important one. These kits will help provide tools for women facing miscarriage. They remind her that she is not alone and honor her baby by offering the choice for dignity through burial. The Pregnancy Resource Center of West Plains also offers a Healing Hearts program. Led by a volunteer professional counselor, this loss support group provides the opportunity for healing for women who have experienced the loss of a baby. If you would like to know more about this group or about Miscarriage Kits, please contact us here.