The WiSSP Resource Library

 Wisconsin Stillbirth Service Program



MEMENTOS

1.   Special Babies

    A memorial booklet prepared for A.M.E.N.D. (Aiding Mothers and Fathers Experiencing Neonatal Death).  The booklet serves to provide a record of information and/or memorials of a "Special Baby."

2.   Our Forever Baby, Pregnancy & Infant Loss Center of MN.

    A book to use as a place to record special memories of a baby who has died.

3.    Planning a Precious Good-Bye, by Sherokee Ilse, Susan Erling, and Mary Jo Flynn; Pregnancy and Infant Loss Center, 1985.

    A booklet describing funeral and memorial ideas after miscarriage, stillbirth or newborn death.

4.   Little Footprints: a Special Baby's Memory Book, by Dorothy Ferguson; Centering Corporation.

    This is a book for creating memories. On one level, it offers parents the opportunity to create an emotional record of their child's brief and bittersweet visit to their world. On another level it offers parents a safe haven for telling the story of their child's journey--a journey that somehow seemed to be ending even as it was beginning. As the parents systematically introduce their child to other members of the family--all of whom would have shared in the child's life--a picture of this lost child and of the child's life is created and transformed into a permanent precious memory.

5.   A Most Important Picture, Johnson, J., Johnson, M., Cunningham, J.H., Weinfield, I.J., Center Corporation, Box 3367, Omaha, NE 68103, 1985.

    Following the death of a baby, personal photographs can be one of the most important lasting keepsakes a family is given. A Most Important Picture is an instructive manual that can help care providers obtain quality photos. It is not intended as a technical manual in camera operation but rather a manual to "illustrate various ways of taking pictures which will be supportive and affirming to the grieving family". A comment in the introduction emphasizes that this resource is not addressed to the general public but rather specifically for perinatal caregivers.

6.   Making Loving Memories - A Gentle Guide to What You Can Do When Your Baby Dies by Mary Lou Eddy and Linda Raybo; Centering Corporation, Omaha, NE, 1990.

    This booklet written by two mothers who themselves have experienced the loss of their baby, is a practical but gentle guide for parents which provides them with ideas aimed at helping them create loving memories of their lost child and offers other helpful resources that can be used in planning a funeral service.

7.   First Foto, Infant Bereavement Assistance Program, St. Charles, Missouri.

    This is basically a service provided to parents who have experienced a stillbirth or neonatal death.  The processes of requesting and ordering photographs of the baby as well as how to create other memories are outlined.  Also included is a list of support groups and organizations. 

8.    Pregnancy Attachment and the Need to Create Memories, RTS Bereavement Services, 1995.

    This is a nicely organized packet of materials to help educate health care providers about perinatal loss.  The program explains how attachment during pregnancy lays the foundation for parental bereavement following a loss, and why collecting memories of the baby can provide comfort and aid the healing process.  The packet includes all necessary instructional materials to provide a one hour inservice (either to stand alone or as part of a longer program).  Included in the presentation kit are 32 professional looking slides, participant handouts, group discussion questions, post test and evaluation.  The latter can facilitate applying for CEU's if desired.