— Emily Lovell of Elkmont believes all life is precious, but above all gifts from God. She knows the joys that come along with the birth of a child, but Lovell, a registered nurse and mother of two, also knows the pain of loss.

“Pregnancy and infant loss is something that once it touches your life, it never lets go,” Lovell said. “It is a path of life that no one wants to go on or should have to go on, but it is a reality of life for many.”

She has experienced the pain of losing two children.

“I have learned that although painful and difficult, there is something to be gained,” she said. “Finding the blessing that results may take some prayer and search, but a true gift of life and love does find its way to your heart.”

Lovell, along with registered nurses and bereavement coordinators at Athens-Limestone Hospital Jessie Abernathy and Alysha Walker, are working to help others cope with such loss. The women know the emotional struggles people go through after the loss of a child. They recently started Healing Hearts, a pregnancy and infant loss support group, which will meet at 6:30 p.m. the first Monday of each month. The first meeting is Aug. 6 in the Education Department of Athens-Limestone Hospital.   “We want to be able to share, listen, support and change what the community thinks about pregnancy/infant loss,” Lovell said. “Unfortunately, not all pregnancy and infant loss can be prevented even with the best of modern medicine, and this is a problem that will always be around. We want to help change the community affected by this for the better.”

Lovell said a study a few years ago of 100 women who had experienced loss and were between the ages of 20 and 62 indicated 75 percent considered their loss as a “loss of a baby” while only 25 percent considered the loss just a part of life. 

Lovell explained that a miscarriage is pregnancy loss before 20 weeks of gestation, adding that 15 to 45 percent of all pregnancies end in miscarriage. According to Lovell, stillbirth is fetal loss after 20 weeks and that approximately five to nine deliveries out of 1,000 are stillbirth. Neonatal loss is newborn death within the first 28 days of life. Approximately five out of every 1,000 live births result in neonatal death.

Walker and Abernathy said plans to start a group like Healing Hearts has been in the works and they are glad to work with Lovell to get one started.

“We went to Pittsburgh in April of 2010 and got certified as Resolve Through Sharing coordinators for the hospital,” Walker said. “Part of that program is that you have a support group affiliated with it.”

The group is open to all women who have suffered any pregnancy or infant loss, whether four weeks or a newborn baby. The group will also welcome mothers of SIDS babies. In addition, couples can attend together if they like.

“It does not matter whether you are two weeks pregnant or whether you had a 9- or 10-month-old that died of SIDS,” said Walker. “This program, RTS, is for early pregnancy loss, stillbirth or newborn death. Regardless of the loss, it’s open to everybody in those categories.”

Walker added it doesn’t matter when the loss occurred. “Women can often times spend years pretending everything is fine, but really they still think about their baby,” she said. “Whether the loss was recent or whether it was a long time ago, they are still welcome.”

It also doesn’t matter where the baby was born, according to Walker. “We might have someone who lives in Limestone County, but delivered in Decatur or Huntsville,” Walker said. “They won’t have to drive an hour to their support meeting because they had their loss at another hospital.”

The women agree they want to create a safe environment where those who have experienced loss can talk and explain their feelings free of judgment.

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan declared October National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. October 15 was designated a national day of remembrance for miscarriage, stillbirth and infant loss.

This October, Athens-Limestone Hospital will host its second ceremony for Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness.

To sign up for the Healing Hearts Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support Group, call the Education Department at Athens-Limestone Hospital at 256-233-9536.