Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day 2025

In observance of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remember Day, occurring annually on October 15th, Evergreen Credit Union will have cookies for sale for a $4 donation. All proceeds raised will go to the Wisconsin Center for Stillbirth and Infant Death (Star Legacy Foundation). In addition to the cookies, members can make a donation $1 or more to get their name featured on our remembrance wall.

The Wisconsin Center for Stillbirth and Infant Death is a statewide program. Eligible families are those who live in Wisconsin and experience the death of a baby through stillbirth, neonatal death, SUID/SIDS, or any other infant death. The Center is Wisconsin’s resource for information on strategies to reduce the risk for stillbirth and infant death. They provide comprehensive answers to frequently asked questions, as well as grief resources, funeral assistance and support for bereaved families. The Wisconsin Center for Stillbirth and Infant Death is funded in part by grants from the Wisconsin Department of Health and numerous individual donors. All services provided by the Wisconsin Center for Stillbirth and Infant Death are free to bereaved families.

In support of our fundraiser, our staff member has graciously shared their story:

In December of 2019 my husband and I fell pregnant after years of battling infertility and PCOS (Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome). We were more than ready to become parents and welcomed the news with open hearts. We surprised our families on Christmas Day to make the occasion even more special.

As we continued our pregnancy, we saw our first ultrasound images, heard our baby’s heartbeat, and eventually learned that they were going to be our firstborn baby girl. Our pregnancy progressed and at a later checkup, we learned that a cyst on one of my ovaries had grown large enough that it would interfere with the pregnancy in later months. I underwent a procedure to have the cyst removed, but it had been so attached that there was little choice but to have the entire ovary removed.

With one remaining ovary and a healthy pregnancy intact, I steadily recovered from surgery.

We were approaching our 20-week bench mark when I started to bleed at 18 weeks. An emergency visit with our OB told us that pre-term labor had started, and our pregnancy was too early to save without severe damage to both myself and our baby. Later that day, we walked into the hospital knowing we would be leaving without our daughter. The beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic prevented anyone but my husband from being with me at the time of birth. My mother sat in her car in the parking lot in hopes of being let in.

Lyla Michelle was born on March 24th, 2020 at 7pm. She lived for 2 minutes before passing in my arms.

My husband held our baby while I was rushed to emergency surgery as I had begun to bleed out from the trauma of birth. It would be three hours before I woke up to see them both still together in our hospital room. We were able to spend a few more hours with our Lyla before having to say our final goodbyes and handing her to our amazing hospital staff who we knew would take care of her body. They gave us a memorial box and a teddy bear that played her heartbeat for us, and we were able to go home the next day with empty arms and broken hearts.

Every year is an opportunity for more healing, and the love for our daughter continues to grow. Pregnancy and Infant Loss can feel isolating and lonely, and it’s so important for other loss parents to recognize they aren’t alone in their grief.

After all, what is grief, if not love persevering?