#HonorAllMoms this Mother’s Day | even those who who have experienced pregnancy loss & child loss

 

Join the movement to #HonorAllMoms on Mother’s Day.   Will you help?  Let’s make a cultural change with such simple expressions of love.  

#HonorALLMoms #Mother’sDay

Let’s cherish & encourage all moms on this special day by throwing some love to the women whose hearts ache.

Mother’s Day brings with it a sunburst of jubilant images on social media. The feeds feature smiling kids serving breakfast and cute babies dressed in their Sunday finest.  Scrolling through the posts you read women heralding, “I’m so happy to be a Mom. It’s the best gift ever.”  Places of worship kindly gift flowers and trinkets to moms. Pinterest serves up all sorts of ideas for crafty projects.

And these moms have every single right to be proud.  To post pictures. To devour that breakfast in bed and to accept those heartfelt gifts.  We love those moms.

But to some ladies, Mother’s Day is a stark reminder of what doesn’t exist & it is one of the most dreaded days of the year.   Some moms don’t have a baby to hold. They don’t have a child to dress.  And on Mother’s Day, these women are sometimes accidentally ignored.


Let’s change that.  Let’s bring these women out of the shadows and into the light of love.

Who Are the Moms who Need Extra Love & Support?

  • The invisible moms- the women who experience pregnancy loss.

Their babies died in the womb, but reside in heaven.  The terminology used to describe that trauma,  ‘miscarriage’ and ‘stillbirth,’ are deceptively simple terms that imply a slight medical procedure.  But it’s not a medical procedure and it’s not slight; it’s the loss of a precious life that a woman cradled in her womb.

For some parents, this tragedy happens multiple times. And some of these women have no living children. All their babies were born straight into heaven.

  • The dear moms- God bless their souls- who have outlived one or more of their children.

They put in the sleepless nights, tackled the pile of never-ending laundry, and miss- more than anything- the sweet, sweet embrace of their precious child.

  • The hopeful women- those who yearn for nothing more than to be a mom.

But they battle infertility.  Some have lost that fight.  Now people constantly question, “Why didn’t you ever have kids?”  Let’s pour some love on them.

On Mother’s Day these women might put on a brave, happy face or they might avoid any and all social settings. But Mother’s Day doesn’t disappear.

And you know what? We don’t want Mother’s Day to disappear either; motherhood is something to be celebrated. Life should be cherished.

This Mother’s Day let’s choose to love on all moms: the moms who have a precious baby they can hold in their arms, the moms whose sweet babies are in heaven, and the women whose heart desire was to be a mom.

How Can we Give that Extra Love and Support?

If you know a woman whose baby died in the womb, a woman who has lost a living child, or a woman battling infertility recognize her this Mother’s Day. Send a text message or a greeting card, make a phone call, envelope her in a hug, or send her flowers.  Use the name of her child in your conversation.  It brings women comfort when you recognize her little one.

If you are at a loss for words simply write, “Hey, I know this might be a difficult day for you. I just want you to know I’m thinking of you on this Mother’s Day. You are the Momma of a precious baby in heaven. I love and cherish you.”

How Can Places of Worship Can Honor All Moms?

Offer a discrete but extremely meaningful gesture by lighting a candle or displaying a beautiful flower arrangement in honor of all the women whose babies are in heaven and those women who battle infertility.

Perhaps write in the bulletin or announce, “The flowers in the sanctuary are placed in honor of all the moms whose babies are in heaven and all the women whose hearts’ desire is to be a mother. We love you.”


 And sweet mother…if you are at an event on Mother’s Day and the speaker says, “Stand if you are a mother” by all means…stand…and stand proudly.  You are a mother.

Mother |Noun | A woman in relation to a child or children to whom she has given birth.


 

Will you join us in making a cultural change?

If you are joining will you share this page or use the hashtag #HonorAllMoms on anything you share about Mother’s Day?

Learn More About the #HonorAllMoms Partners. 

#HonorAllMoms Partners Logo for Facebook(2)(2)

 DID YOU KNOW?  Each year in the United States 3,500 babies under the age of 1 die, 1 in 160 deliveries end in stillbirth, 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage, & 1 in 8 couples battle infertility.

MAY PRAYER PROMPT CALENDAR

& this year I am so happy to offer you a May Prayer Prompt Calendar (created with the help of the amazing author Kelly O’Dell Stanley.  Make sure to visit her page!)  To download this calendar: click on the link below.  It will take you to another page with a small picture of the calendar.  Click this picture.  Then the pdf version will pop-up for you to print!

May 2017 prayer prompt calendar

Please feel free to print & share this calendar with your church, women’s group, or any other organization so it can be shared with members.


#HonorAllMoms Copyright © 2015 Sarah Philpott

 

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About Sarah

Sarah Philpott, Ph.D, is the author of the award-winning book: Loved Baby: 31 Devotions Helping You Grieve and Cherish Your Child After Pregnancy Loss. Her newest release is The Growing Season: A Year of Down-on-the-Farm Devotions. Sarah lives in the south on a cattle farm where she raises her four mischievous children and is farm wife to her high-school sweetheart. Sarah is founder of the Loved Baby support group and #HonorAllMoms Mother's Day movement. These days Sarah happily chooses to be a stay-at-home mom and spends her days cleaning up peanut butter & jelly off the counter, dreaming of traveling the world, and chasing her children around the farm. She doesn't believe in sharing desserts. Life is too short to share chocolate! Sarah is a lover of coffee (black), rocking chairs, the outdoors, and Hemingway.

41 thoughts on “#HonorAllMoms this Mother’s Day | even those who who have experienced pregnancy loss & child loss

  1. I love this. I still remember sitting in church on Mother’s Day on year, when they showed a video that, at the end mentioned all those women who were praying to become mothers. So powerful….I cried. It felt so nice to be acknowledged even though I didn’t have a child yet. That struggle is real….. I am the mom of a happy, healthy, energetic 2 year old little boy now, but I’ll never forget that Mother’s Day……. Thanks for sharing this post!

  2. I absolutely adore this article. I’m a mom but I battle with RA. My friend who also is my husband’s cousin helps me out when she can with our daughter, especially on weekends. She isn’t married, dating and has no children. She us special to our family and we make sure she feels appreciated on Mothers Day. There are so many women who are instrumental in the upbringing of other people’s children and they too should be recognized. Thanks for the great read.

  3. What a wonderful thought and post! My heart “aches” on Mother’s Day for my mom… and my mom’s birthday… and we just had the 3rd year anniversary of her death….. I miss her so much! Thanks for remembering all the women who have difficulties on Mother’s Day …. or leading up to it.

  4. I know so many women that have experienced loss like this, and I know they are overjoyed with the children in their lives now, but how they must miss the others, the ones that have gone to heaven before them. Thank you for this reminder!

  5. I love this! I’m sharing on FB and twitter and anywhere else. When I was growing up, there was a lady who never had kids (I guess she struggled with infertility I don’t really know) but I know she never had any even though she wanted them. Anyway, My siblings and I kinda adopted her as a second mother. Our mom was around but she knew her friend needed some extra love. So we made her cards and pictures etc you know the stuff kids do for their mom. This lady told my mom that it meant the world to her for us to hug her, give our little homemade gifts for her to hang on her fridge, and tell her how much we loved her!

  6. What a sweet post! Most Mother’s Days, I post something to recognize these categories of women (for lack of a better term) as well as those who had lost mothers either to death or just who abandoned them. It’s painful on both sides of those coins. Love that you are doing something to spread this message! Our church handles this very well and sensitively. And we don’t do a lot of fanfare from the pulpit toward mothers on Mother’s Day. Bless you for loving these special hearts!

  7. Oh, you are right. Mother’s Day can be so hard for so many–even for single moms! I love the idea you have of the flowers and the note in the bulletin. Thanks for reminding us to be sensitive and caring to those around us.

  8. What a great idea. The forgotten mothers or the use-to-be mothers or want-to-be mothers need support. I liked your suggestions for recognizing them in church.

  9. I love this post! I am a mother to 7 children, 6 that walk, one who soars. Everything you suggest for the bereaved mother is awesome ! My struggle is what to say to the woman who has to deal with infertility? I love what Dara and Brandi shared…any other ideas anyone? To me, it is the most delicate situation…

    1. I love how you just said “6 that walk and one who soars.” That is such a beautiful image. I am so sorry for your loss. Maybe simply say, “I know this day is probably hard for you. I just want you to know I love you and am praying for you as you walk this journey.”

  10. Beautiful post. I didn’t understand the grieving process of a miscarriage until I went through one myself. It is something that so few talk about, but so many go through. Wonderful idea to honor those mamas who are in various stages of grieving their beloved babies.

  11. Thank you, dear Sarah. I am so proud of you. Thank you and Perry for the flowers-you knew I sorta dreaded Mothers’ Day. ” Love wasn’t put in your heart to stay, Love isn’t love ’til you give it away”. I love you, my dear, dear kind Daughter-in -love

  12. So sweet to bring to remembrance those that have such a difficult reminder around Mother’s Day. I am a mom to two lovely young adult women and now a grandson, too! And for that I am very grateful… I must say Mother’s Day is a bit difficult for me… I lost my beloved mother over four years ago and it is still so difficult!

    1. Oh, Clare! I’m sure this is so difficult. Last year the flower arrangement was in honor of women who had mothers in Heaven and women who had children in Heaven. It was a beautiful tribute from my church.

  13. This is such an important reminder to love on a woman I know who has struggled with infertility and miscarriage. It’s sometimes hard to identify because I haven’t tried to start a family yet, but I need to see these women as mothers just as much as any other. They have loved and lost.

    1. It is hard to identify…even if you have your own children those who have not experienced loss do have difficulty understanding. But whether they identify or not it is so refreshing to see so many women show love and empathy to one another…no matter the type of grief. Thank you for visiting, Faith!

  14. Hello Sarah!

    I just found out about you and your wonderful blog through Sally Field’s page! Just wanted to say thank you for having a heart for ALL moms. I have a friend who can definitely be celebrated and cherished in this season. Thank you for reaching out and caring.

    Also, did I enter the giveaway correctly? For the “share on social media” drawing, what exactly wasni supposed to write in that small slot? I shared the post on my fb but in the rafflecopter part I only wrote #HonorAllMoms facebook…(as you can see, I’m kinda new to this lol)
    Thanks!

    1. I’m so glad that you found the site! What you did is absolutely perfect:) You are entered to win & I appreciate you sharing #HonorAllMoms.

  15. I loved getting to live this out today, and practice actively reaching out to women who I suspected did not feel like celebrating today. I am not sure how I missed the giveaway! All closed up, but I still shared today on Instagram to unite and remind women to look out for those who may be hurting. Love the heart behind this!!!

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