Here you will find links to care, services, and support and websites for expectant and new parents about ways to help babies survive and thrive, pregnancy loss, losing a baby, and grief.

Care, Services, and Support

• Compassionate Friends: Grief Support After the Death of a Child. Support via online support groups and local chapters to bereaved parents, grandparents, and siblings who have experienced pregnancy loss or the death of a child.
  
  
• First Candle. A nationwide, 24-hour, toll-free hotline for expectant and new parents on ways to help their babies survive and thrive, for parents who have experienced a pregnancy loss or the death of a baby, and for professionals working with families. Telephone: (800) 221-7437.
  
  
• Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) Hotline. A hotline number to help pregnant women and mothers with newborns identify free or low-cost services for themselves and their babies. Telephone: (800) 311-2229 (311-BABY); (800) 504-7081 (Spanish).
  
  
• National Sudden and Unexpected Infant/Child Death and Pregnancy Loss Resource Center. Resources for expectant and new parents on ways to help babies survive and thrive, pregnancy loss, the sudden and unexpected death of a baby, and grief. Telephone: (866) 866-7437 (Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time). E-mail: info@sidscenter.org.
  
  
• Share Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support, Inc: Find a Support Group. Contact information for support groups in most states for grieving families.
  

Expectant and New Parents

• First Candle: New and Expectant Parents. Tips about having a healthy baby, breastfeeding, baby care, and ways to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Use Kicks Count! materials in English and Spanish to help you monitor your baby's movement during pregnancy and do something if you are worried. Call the hotline to learn about ways to help your baby survive and thrive.
  
  
• March of Dimes (MOD): Pregnancy and Newborn Health Education Center. Information in English and Spanish about preconception and prenatal care, pregnancy complications, labor and delivery, breastfeeding, and newborn care. Topics include safety for babies and risk factors for SIDS. Resources include a blog, an online question-and-answer service in English and Spanish, and video and audio clips.
  
  
• National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (HMHB). Fact sheets, published interviews with experts, and information in a question-and-answer format about preconception planning, prenatal care, and baby care. Use HMHB's service:
  
  Text4baby. Free weekly messages by cell phone in English and Spanish to help you through pregnancy and your baby's first year.
  
  
• Safe Kids USA: Safety Basics for Babies. Information about infant safety during sleep; while feeding, bathing, or playing; and when riding in the car.
  
  
• Also see the MCH Library's family resource brief, Preconception and Pregnancy, the resource brief, Breastfeeding, and the resource brief, Prematurity and Preterm Birth.
  
  
• Learn more about making a safe sleep space for your baby.
  

Pregnancy Loss

• March of Dimes (MOD): Pregnancy and Newborn Loss. Information about ectopic and molar pregnancy, miscarriage, neonatal death, and stillbirth.
  
  
• MedlinePlus. Links to information in English and Spanish about miscarriage and stillbirth.
  
  
• National Sudden and Unexpected Infant/Child Death and Pregnancy Loss Resource Center: Pregnancy Loss, Miscarriage, Stillbirth. Links to websites with information about pregnancy loss, miscarriage, and stillbirth and about coping with your loss.
  

Losing a Baby

• CJ Foundation for SIDS. Information and materials about SIDS and steps to reduce the risk for SIDS.
  
  
• MedlinePlus: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Links to information in English and Spanish about SIDS.
  
  
• National Sudden and Unexpected Infant/Child Death and Pregnancy Loss Resource Center: For Families. A guide to information in English and Spanish about SIDS and its characteristics, diagnosis, risk factors, research, and prevention initiatives. Links to publications and websites for more information about SIDS.
  

Grieving Families

• Compassionate Friends: Grief Support After the Death of a Child. Brochures for parents, grandparents, and siblings who have experienced pregnancy loss and the death of a child. Offers support via online support groups and local chapters.
  
  
• First Candle: Grieving Families. Articles, brochures, and a hotline for families who have experienced the death of a baby. Some brochures are available in Spanish.
  
  
• Hospice: For Patients and Families Facing Life-Threatening Illness. Articles about coping with death, including articles to help surviving children.
  
  
• March of Dimes (MOD): Bereavement Materials. Articles for families who have experienced a miscarriage, stillbirth, or death of a baby. Resources explain grief, discuss how to deal with your feelings and ask for help, and suggest ways to remember your baby.
  
  
• National Sudden and Unexpected Infant/Child Death and Pregnancy Loss Resource Center: Bereavement Support. A guide to resources for parents, families, caregivers, and others touched by a baby's death. Also presents a podcast of three parents who discuss their experiences of loss and offer advice to other parents who have lost a child.
  
  
• Share Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support, Inc. Brochures in English and Spanish for grieving families experiencing pregnancy loss or the death of a baby, contact information for local support groups, and an electronic newsletter. Articles, training, and conferences for those caring for bereaved families.
  

Learn more about infant mortality and pregnancy loss and factors that contribute to the death of a baby: birth defects, injuries, low birthweight and prematurity, preconception and pregnancy, and sleep environment.

Need more information? Use the collection of resources that library staff have put together for you and your family.

Infant Mortality and Pregnancy Loss: Family Resource Brief. (November 2010). (Updated: September 2011).
Author: Susan Brune Lorenzo, M.L.S., MCH Library.
Contributors: Jeanne Anastasi, M.A., Beth DeFrancis, M.L.S., and Tracy Lopez, M.S.L.S., National Sudden and Unexpected Infant/Child Death & Pregnancy Loss Resource Center.
Reviewers: Suzanne Bronheim, Ph. D., National Center for Cultural Competence; Stacey D. Cunningham, M.S.W., M.P.H., National Healthy Start Association; Hanan Kallash, R.N., M.S., First Candle; Olivia K. Pickett, M.A., M.L.S., MCH Library.
Editor: Ruth Barzel, M.A., MCH Library.