First and foremost, please call your health care provider.

Local

• Bella Health + Wellness
  • Englewood, CO
  • Dignified life affirming medicine: OB-GYN, Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Functional Medicine, and Fertility Education
  • Miscarriage Kits are available
• Behold Your Child Ministry
  • Centennial, CO
  • Beholdyourchild@stthomasmore.org
  • St. Thomas More Catholic Parish
• Bereavement Doula
  • Parker, CO
  • Elizabeth Petrucelli  
• String of Pearls
  • Parker, CO
  • Difficult Prenatal Diagnosis

Online

• Catholic Miscarriage Support
  • A comprehensive site created by Catholic parents of loss
• Online Catholic Doctor
• Sufficient Grace Ministries Virtual Support for Parents
• A Mom’s Peace

  • A Lay Apostolate for Mothers Of Miscarried and Stillborn Souls

• Resources for Military Families

Since human life begins at conception, the remains of all babies must be treated with the same respect as the remains of other human beings. Such remains should never be spoken of or considered as “mere tissue” or “medical waste,” or treated in the same way as medical waste. The remains of babies should either be buried or cremated in a respectful manner and place. Cremated remains should either be  buried or entombed.  

Parents may wish to arrange for private burial and cremation with a funeral director, or have their baby’s remains buried in a communal grave in a specially designated section of a cemetery. A health care facility at which the mother has been a patient during the miscarriage or stillbirth may be able to assist with these arrangements.  

Families experiencing perinatal loss should be afforded all the services and support that would be offered for families who have an older child or adult die, including proper care and burial. 

For more information and assistance contact Catholic Funeral and Cemetery Services anytime, day or night at  720-605-0689 and/or Precious Lives Burial at 303-502-9666.  Catholic Funeral and Cemetery Services- Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery. 

Resources:

• Catholic Miscarriage Support – Online Resource
  • The Physical Process
  • Caring for Your Baby’s Body
  • Burial and Names
  • How to Navigate the Hospital
  • Specific to Stillbirth
  • Practical Questions and Answers
• Heart Of My Heart (Colorado Springs)
  • Miscarriage & Infant Loss Support For Families
• Heaven’s Gain
  • Pregnancy loss support, caskets, urns, and memorial items

Local

• Precious Lives Burial -Archdiocese of Denver 
  • Catholic Funeral and Cemetery Services of Colorado would like to take each precious life into their care for placement in Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery at no cost.
• Sacred Heart of Mary Catholic Church – Boulder, CO
  • Documents to assist in planning your loved one’s funeral, Sacred Heart of Mary Cemetery Guidelines, and purchasing information
• Colorado Funeral Homes Directory 
• Colorado Cemeteries by County
• Behold Your Child Ministry – Centennial, CO
  • Beholdyourchild@stthomasmore.org
  • St. Thomas More Catholic Parish
  • Provides burial garments/burial pouches lovingly handmade at no cost to families 
• Angel Beds – St. Frances Cabrini/Littleton, CO
  • Provides at no charge caskets (“Angel Beds”) and burial garments to those in need and give those families the dignity that they deserve.

Online

• Trappist Caskets
  • New Melleray Abbey in Peosta, IA offers small wooden caskets and urns free of charge, and they will ship them when needed to parents who have lost children. These also work for children in very early development
• Heaven’s Gain Ministries
  • Heaven’s Gain Ministries has baby caskets (first trimester through infancy), glass vessels, and miscarriage kits available for purchase.
• Resources for Military Families

• Order for the Naming and Commendation of an Infant who Died Before Birth (Archdiocese of St. Louis)
  • English
  • Español
    
• Naming Ceremony of a Child Lost to Miscarriage or Stillbirth (Diocese of Fargo)
  • English
  • Español

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)

• Rite for the Blessing of a Child in the Womb 
• USCCB Funeral Readings For Children Who Die Before Baptism
• USCCB Blessing of Parents after a Miscarriage or Stillbirth

Ministries/Support

Child Loss Ministries

• Mater Dolorosa’s Hope, Miscarriage and Stillborn Ministry St. Mary’s Catholic Church (Littleton, CO)
• Red Bird Ministries
  • A beautiful new ministry that guides individuals and couples through the complexity and trauma that happens with the loss of a child from pregnancy through adulthood.
• Morning Light Ministry
  • A Catholic ministry for bereaved mothers and fathers who have experienced the death of their baby through ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, stillbirth or infant death up to one year old.
• Elizabeth Ministry  
  • Offering Hope, Help and Healing On Issues Related To Relationships, Sexuality, and Childbearing
    • St. John the Baptist Catholic Church (Longmont, CO)
    • St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church (Ft. Collins, CO) : Email the team seaselizabethministry@yahoo.com
• Mommy To A Little Saint – Catholic Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support
  • A Facebook group for Catholic women who have experienced the loss of a young child through miscarriage, stillbirth and infant loss. This group exists to provide support, encouragement and prayer as we move forward.
• Heart of My Heart (Colorado Springs)
  • Heart of my Heart is here to support families of children lost to the tragedy of miscarriage, stillbirth and early infant loss in the Catholic Diocese of Colorado Springs.   
• The Apostolate of Hannah’s Tears Loss of a Child
  • Offers prayers of support and resources

Catholic Grief Counseling

• St. Raphael Counseling 
• Denver Catholic Counseling
• Mount Tabor
• Marisol Health Counseling
• Your Faithful Therapist
• Elizabeth Higbie

Natural Family Planning 

• Archdiocese of Denver Natural Family Planning Resources
• Living the Sacrament: A Catholic NFP Online Community

Other Diocese Support:

• • Diocese of Colorado Springs 
  • Archdiocese of Los Angeles 
  • Archdiocese of St. Louis
  • Archdiocese of Philadelphia 

Articles/Writings

Vatican

• The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die Without Baptism 

Suffering & Grieving

• Salvifici Doloris Ethika Politika: “The Mass and Human Pain”: Article 
• Questions During Suffering: short excerpt from “The Way of Trust and Love”  by Fr. Jacques Philippe: PDF 
• A Catholic Reflection on the Meaning of Suffering

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Articles 

• Solace and Strength in the Sorrow of Miscarriage 
• Loving Parents After Miscarriage 
• The Book of Job

Catholic Digest 

• Aftermath of Losing a Child

Catholic Miscarriage Support 

• Spiritual  
• Emotional

Prayers, Devotions, and Novenas 

• Saints to Know and Novenas to Pray for Miscarriage and Loss
• Saints to Know and Novenas to Pray for Fertility and Infertility
• Infertility Stations of the Cross  
• Divine Mercy of the Rockies
• The Seven Sorrows of Miscarriage – National Catholic Register
• Chaplet of Hannah’s Tears
• Litany of the Saints
• A Rosary for Life: The Glorious Mysteries
• St. Gianna Beretta Molla Novena
• Waiting with Mary: A Seven Sorrows Devotion for Women Facing Infertility

Catholic Grief Counseling

• St. Raphael Counseling
• Denver Catholic Counseling
• Mount Tabor
• Marisol Health Counseling 
• Your Faithful Therapist
• Elizabeth Higbie

Support Groups: Non-Catholic 

• Denver Share
• The Catalyst Center Denver
• Children’s Hospital Colorado
• Colorado Pregnancy and Newborn Loss Services
• 3 Hopeful Hearts Fort Collins 

Colorado Organizations

• Angel Eyes
  • Helps Colorado families cope with the sudden, unexpected death of an infant or toddler while raising awareness and supporting research. They offer free professional bereavement counseling, a support group, peer connections, and community referrals.
• Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep 

  • Providing the gift of remembrance portraits to parents experiencing the death of a baby.
• Walk With Me
  • Is devoted to giving practical, financial, and emotional support to families who are learning to live in the wake of their child’s death prior to or shortly after birth. It is their mission to provide refuge for grieving families and help them break through barriers that in the way of hope.

For Families and Professionals 

Prayerful reflections are available below for those who have been affected by miscarriage, stillbirth, infant loss, or a life-limiting prenatal diagnosis. These reflections allow people, at their own pace, to sit and reflect on what they are experiencing. Reflections for mothers, fathers, couples, siblings (both older and younger), grandparents, medical professionals, and ministers may be accessed and downloaded below under each category.

• Reflections for After Miscarriage
• Reflections for After Stillbirth
• Reflections for After Infant Loss
• Reflections for After a Life-Limiting Prenatal Diagnosis
• Reflections for Medical Professionals and Ministers
• Reflexiones en Español

For Fathers

• Catholic Miscarriage Support for Bereaved Fathers

Other Family Members

• A Complicated Grief: Persevering in Faith in the Midst of Suffering: personal reflection by Kerry Weber on losing her niece.

For Siblings

• Catholic Miscarriage Support: “Telling Children and Others”
• Mothering Spirit: What do do for kids when their sibling dies.
• Our Heaven Baby: a book on miscarriage and the hope of Heaven by Leah Vis
• Something Happened by Cathy Blanford

For Clergy

• Pastoral Guide to Miscarriage, Stillbirth, or Newborn Loss
• Heart Of My Heart – For Clergy
• Miscarriage and Early Baby Loss (Pastoral Outreach) by Breda Theakston

Resources

• Catholic Miscarriage Support for Friends & Family
• What to Say to a Mom After a Miscarriage
• How to Support Parents Who Have Lost a Child
• What to do When a Friend Loses a Baby  
• How to Talk to Parents After Their Child Died 
• How do You Help a Grieving Friend Video  
• What to Say to a Grieving Friend Instead of “How are you?” 
• 7 Ways to Love Someone Who is Grieving Their Child 
• 20 Things You Can Do for Those Who are Grieving
• Helping SIDS Survivors Heal
• Miscarriage Sympathy Cards 
  • Handmade sympathy cards featuring a quotation from St. Zelie Martin, the mother of St. Therese
• Karen Ritz Cards  
  • Handmade cards especially for the loss of a little one
• Laurelbox 
  • Loving gifts for grieving friends 
• Evermore Blooms
  • Gifting flowers of hope to grieving mothers

• Memorial Wall for the Unborn Sacred Heart of Mary/Boulder, CO 
• Rowan Tree Foundation Angel Memorial Plaza-Parker, CO
• Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Littleton, CO
• Shrine of the Unborn
• Catholic Resources and Gifts for Miscarriage 
• Keepsake crosses 
• Keepsake Guestbooks  
• Keepsake Plaques 
• Grace Personalized Etsy shop Hand and Footprint Necklace 
• Auspice Designs Catholic Marian Infant Loss Jewelry 
• Sufficient Grace Ministries Dreams of You Shop
• A Mom’s Peace   

A Blog About Miscarriage

• “Comfort for the Grieving Mother from Another Place and Time”
• “Naming a Miscarried Baby” 

Aleteia

• “Studies Acknowledge How Traumatic Miscarriage Is – So Why Doesn’t Society?” 
  
• “After a Miscarriage, With the Blessed Mother at the Cross”
  
• “What’s the Right Way to Answer “How Many Children Do You Have?” When You’ve Miscarried?” 

Catholic Miscarriage Support

• “Telling Children and Others” 

Catholic Exchange

• Miscarriage and the Challenge of Pieta: sharing suffering with the Blessed Mother

A Letter from Cara Fleury

• Identifying with Christ on the Cross in Miscarriage

Other Blogs

• Miscarriage Care
  • A blog on miscarriage by the Early Pregnancy Loss Association
• Miscarriage – personal reflection
  • Personal reflection posted in Faith ND
• Mothering Spirit
  • Reflections on miscarriage: “Carrying & Missing” and  “Gossamer Veil“
• Rainbow Babies
  • Dealing with the Pain of Loss and the Joy of New Life simultaneously

Miscarriage

• Grieving Together: A Couple’s Journey Through Miscarriage by Laura and Franco Fanucci
• After Miscarriage: A Catholic Woman’s Companion to Healing & Hope by Karen Edmisten
• Anne Among Us: First Fear…then Miscarriage A Catholic Father’s Diary by Rob Guinan
• Donum Dignitatis: The Catholic’s Guide to Miscarriage by Elizabeth Petrucelli
• It’s Not “Just” a Heavy Period: The Miscarriage Handbook by Elizabeth Petrucelli
• Mourning a Miscarriage: a booklet of prayers for a grieving couple
• When Mourning Breaks: Coping with Miscarriage by Melissa Sexson Hanson
• Our Stories of Miscarriage: Healing with Words edited by Rachel Faldet and Karen Fitton
• Love Letters to Miscarriage Moms: You Are Not Alone by Samantha Evans
• All Seasons Pass: Grieving a Miscarriage by Martha Manning

Miscarriage, Stillbirth

• A Silent Sorrow Pregnancy Loss: Guidance and Support for You and Your Family by Ingrid Kohn and Perry-Lynn Moffitt
• Empty Arms: Hope and Support for Those Who Have Suffered a Miscarriage, Stillbirth, or Tubal Pregnancy by Pam Vredevelt

Miscarriage, Stillbirth, Infant Death

• Nursery of Heaven:  Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Loss in the Lives of the Saints and Today’s Parents by Cassie Everts and Patrick O’Hearn
• Blessed is the Fruit of Thy Womb: Rosary Reflections on Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Loss by Heidi Indahl
• Empty Cradle, Broken Heart: Surviving the Death of Your Baby by Deborah L. Davis
• Empty Arms: Coping with Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Death by Sherokee Ilse

Miscarriage, Stillbirth, Infant Death, Child Loss

• Hiding in the Upper Room: How the Catholic Sacraments Healed Me from Child Loss by Kelly Breaux
• The One Year Book of Hope by Nancy Guthrie
• Holding Onto Hope:  A Pathway Through Suffering to the Heart of God by Nancy Guthrie
  • (Includes Eight-Week Bible Study on the Book of Job)
• Silent Grief: Miscarriage-Child Loss: Finding Your Way Through the Darkness by Clara Hinton
• Sufficient Grace: Standing in the Sacred Place where Heaven Meets Earth by Kelly Gerken
• The Grief of Dads: Support and Hope for Catholic Fathers Navigating Child Loss by Patrick O’Hearn, Bryan Feger, Ryan & Kelly Breaux

Difficult Prenatal Diagnosis

• A Gift of Time: Continuing Your Pregnancy When Your Baby’s Life Is Expected to be Brief by Amy Kuebelbeck and Deborah L. Davis
• Waiting with Gabriel: A Story of Cherishing a Baby’s Brief Life by Amy Kuebelbeck
• Let Yourself be Loved:  Big Lessons From a Little Life by Elizabeth Leon
• Perfectly Human: Nine Months with Cerian by Sarah C. Williams
• I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy by Angie Smith
• Journey in Love A Catholic Mother’s Prayer after a Prenatal Diagnosis by Kathryn Anne Casey
• What God Had Emptied How I Found Hope in My Children’s Diagnosis by Kathryn Anne Casey

Sudden Infant Death

• A Thousand Pounds:  Finding the Strength to Live and Love under the Weight of Unbearable Loss by Brianne Edwards
• SIDS & Infant Death Survival Guide: Information & Comfort for Grieving Family & Friends & Professionals Who Seek to Help Them by Joani Nelson Horchler & Robin Rice

Experiencing Infertility

• Infertility Companion for Catholics: Spiritual and Practical Support for Couples by Angelique Ruhi-Lopez and Carmen Santamaria
• When Expecting Doesn’t Happen: Turning Infertility into a Journey of Hope by Marie Meaney, D.PHIL
• Waiting with Mary: A Seven Sorrows Devotional for Catholic Women Facing Infertility by Kathryn Wood
• Facing Infertility: A Catholic Approach by Jean Dimech-Juchniewicz

For All Loss

• Healing Your Grieving Heart: 100 Practical Ideas by Alan D Wolfelt. PH. D.
• The Way of Trust and Love:  A Retreat Guided by St. Thérèse of Lisieux by Jacques Philippe
• Praying With Our Lady of Sorrows: Meditations for grieving mothers by Eileen Tully
• The Original Mothers’ Manual by A. Francis Coomes, S.J.
• The Original Fathers’ Manual by A. Francis Coomes, S.J.
• Amazing Grace for Those Who Suffer by Jeff Cavins & Matthew Pinto
• Good Grief by Granger E. Westberg
• Life of the Beloved by Henri J.M. Nouwen

Articles and Blog Posts

• Mothering Spirit: Encouraging blog with several helpful articles: 
  • “Eulogy for Maggie & Abby”   
  • “Pregnancy After Loss”   
  • “There’s a Wideness”   
  • “This is the Story”    
  • “To Have and Have Not” 
  • “Yes that Breaks your Heart”  
• Saint Zelie Martin and Overcoming Grief in Hope 
• The Hidden Face of Love: An Open Letter to Women (and Men) Who Have Lost Children and Those Who Know Them
• Article The Power of “And” : How One Word Changed the Way I Grieve
• Wanting One More : A reflection on the deep pain of recurrent miscarriage

Websites and Organizations

• Alive, Alone
  • Promoting healing to bereaved parents whose only child, or all children, are deceased.
• Bereaved Parents USA
  • A nationwide organization designed to aid and support bereaved parents and their families.
• Luminous Light Studio
  • The Bereaved Mother’s Love Project 
• Missing Grace
  • Resources and support for families that have experienced pregnancy loss, infant loss or infertility.
• SHARE
  • Provides support to those mourning the tragic death of a baby through early pregnancy loss, stillbirth or newborn death. 
• Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
  • Resources and Support for Families SUID/SIDS Gateway &  SIDS Institute 
• The Compassionate Friends
  • Supports families who have experienced the death of a child.
• Mommies Enduring Neonatal Death

Infertility Support

• Vera Health & Fertility
  Dr Sarah Pederson OB GYN MD
  12207 Pecos Street, Suite 500, Westminster, CO 80234
  303-797-5595 or vera@verafertility.com
• The Fruitful Hollow
  • The Fruitful Hollow is a Catholic resource and community for those who struggle with infertility.
  • Catholic Infertility Resource – their weekly blog posts
• Springs in the Desert
  • Springs in the Desert accompanies many women and couples struggling with infertility and loss by offering a place of respite and solidarity, where they come to know God’s love for them and discover that He is transforming their suffering into fruitfulness.
• Addressing Infertility with Kindness and Compassion 
  • USCCB Article
• The Apostolate of Hannah’s Tears
• Reproductive Technology Evaluation and Treatment of Infertility
• Infertility Stations of the Cross
• Saints to Know and Novenas to Pray for Fertility and Infertility

Natural Family Planning

• Archdiocese Of Denver NFP 
• Living the Sacrament: A Catholic NFP Online Community

Books

• Infertility Companion for Catholics:  Spiritual and Practical Support for Couples by Angelique Ruhi-Lopez and Carmen Santamaria
• Infertility – Finding God’s Peace in the Journey
• Facing Infertility: A Catholic Approach
• When Expecting Doesn’t Happen
• Waiting with Mary: A Seven Sorrows Devotion for Women Facing Infertility

Online Resources

• Saint Paul VI Institute – “A Place of Hope and Healing”
• Authentic Catholic Health Care Resources
• 2018 Humanae vitae 50th anniversary academic symposium: Elizabeth Kirk, JD
• USCCB Infertility Internet Resources