BenjaMen Q2: Perinatal Bereavement Program

Thank you for taking the time to join The BenjaMen of Jackson in donating to the Perinatal Berevement Program at Henry Ford Allegiance. The program may be affiliated with the hospital, but rest assured it is fully self-funded by donations and the kindness of people like you!

The loss of a baby, pre or post birth, has touched many of us directly or indirectly. It is a unique grief to process. The donation-driven Perinatal Bereavement Program provides essential support for any patient with a perinatal loss, regardless of gestational age, including stillborn, infant death (including SUID- Sudden

Unexpected Infant Death cases), miscarriages, including ectopic and DandC patients, and pediatric cases. It is imperative that we provide comprehensive resources for these moms and families. We must be the ones to focus on the emotional and physical needs of our patients with as much immediacy as possible.

Supporting women and families in their healing journey helps build a healthy community. We provide our patients with a stillborn or infant death a very long list of resources. There are a couple of those resources that we currently need support for.

o Our goal is to commit to covering the costs for:

▪ cremation, for parent(s) who want their baby cremated privately

▪ basic casket, for parent(s) who want their baby buried. In spring of 2022, we

will open the donor-funded Infant Mausoleum at Roseland Cemetery which will

provide free internment for any family that desires that option.

▪ Urns and remembrance jewelry

o Possible replacement of one Cuddle Cot

▪ The Cuddle Cot is a cooling pad that helps to aid in tissue preservation, allowing

the baby to be always at bedside. It gives the family precious, needed time to

bond with baby. We may need to replace one in the next 2-3 years.

We have expanded our services to include support for early pregnancy losses, specifically for

miscarriages and ectopic patients into our Emergency Department. This fills and enormous gap. Some

research shows that the rate of miscarriages in the United States may be as high as 1 in 4 women. Early

pregnancy loss patients receive valuable grief support in the form of a remembrance bag. A full list of

support and resources is included on the attached page.

o Our goal is to expand early pregnancy loss service to doctors’ offices

▪ This would require more investment in materials and remembrance bags.

An average size quarterly gift from BenjaMen would cover the outlined above costs for the next 2-3 years,

allowing us to expand services to more moms and families. Additional sources of revenue that will

sustain this donation-driven program alongside BenjaMen include the annual staff and physician

fundraising campaign and private donors.

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of our request. If you have any questions or require further

clarification, please reach out to Joy Sterrett, Program Coordinator at [phone redacted].

Perinatal Bereavement Support Statistics

• From Jan 2020-present we provided

o 30 infant cremations

o 5 caskets

o 1 urn

• In 2020 alone we cared for 257 women who experienced early pregnancy loss

Resources provided to our patients with a stillborn or infant death

• Emotional support for patient and family

• Offering Genetic studies, autopsy options and IUFD (Intrauterine Fetal Demise) lab studies

• Baby care, post-delivery, including:

o Bathing the baby

o Dressing the baby

o Footprints/handprints

o Foot/hand molds

o Photographs of baby and family

o Clip a lock of hair to place in memory box

• Provide memory box to place all memento's in

• Baseball to put footprints on

• Offer Clergy to be notified and offer baptism.

• Encourage mother and father to view and hold baby

• Encourage siblings to view baby. Use concrete terms when discussing the death of the baby

with children

• Provide grief handouts and information for local and online support groups

• Facilitate the transfer of patient from the Maternity unit, if desired

• Facilitate breast milk donation to the Bronson Mothers’ Milk Bank, if desired

• Facilitate funeral and burial arrangements

• Funding for cremation costs or caskets for our patients

• Use Cuddle Cot for In-Room bonding with baby

Resources provided to our patients with early pregnancy loss:

• Grief hand-outs designed specifically for miscarriages and ectopic patients

• A remembrance tote bag that includes:

o Blanket

o “Bear Hugs from Barrett” Bear

o “Always In Our Hearts” bracelets

o Baby booties

o Diaper

o Hat

• Information on our hospital’s Coping with Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support Group

• Information on other local support groups and counseling services

• Genetic studies on the products of conception or fetus