Beech Tree News Network

On October 25, 1988, President Ronald Reagan designated October as Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month.  On Monday morning
Butler County Judge David Fields and Morgantown Mayor Billy Phelps signed a proclamation declaring October Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month in Morgantown and Butler County.
Mayor Phelps read the proclamation and thanked Katrina Sims for making him aware of this important issue.
Mrs. Sims gave the following statement:
"First off I would like to thank Mayor Billy Phelps for making this happen. If it weren't for him, we all wouldn't be standing here today.
On August 30th of this year something I thought would never happen, happened. I found out we were pregnant and had lost the baby all on the same day, which just happened to be my birthday.
Days after we lost our sweet angel my husband and I decided to give our sweet baby a name. Even though I didn't know the gender, we decided to go with the name Hayden. There is no term to describe the loss of a child; the loss is unimaginable and indescribable. 1 in 4 is not just a statistic, it is ME, IT IS US. So let's break the silence! Let's remember our angels."

Autumn Branch also shared her loss of her infant daughter at 22 weeks.  "My daughter, Heartlynn Grace Ann King was stillborn on my other daughter's first birthday.  It was hard, but the hospital staff was very supportive."
According to the proclamation, one in every four women suffers a miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant loss.