MercyOne Wave of Light ceremony comforts parents while honoring pregnancy, fetal and infant loss
October 9, 2023Waterloo, Iowa; October 10, 2023 - MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center will proudly host Wave of Light, an event to support grieving parents and honor the babies they’ve lost. Everyone is welcome from any stage in the grieving process.
Wave of Light occurs every year on October 15, International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. inside MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center with music, fellowship and decorating luminary bags (or face painting for children.) Shortly before 7 p.m., organizers will read the names of those babies no longer with us. Then, the event moves outside to light luminaries honoring pregnancies and infants lost but never forgotten.
As people around the world light a candle at 7 p.m. in their local time, it creates a “Wave of Light” around the globe. The worldwide ceremony recognizes those who have experienced miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy or stillbirth. It also honors lives gone too soon due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and other causes.
Suzanne Bellinger, DNP, a clinical nurse specialist at MercyOne Waterloo Birth Center, said, “As time passes, some parents might feel like they should stop talking about their loss. While loss is everlasting, Wave of Light reminds families that love is also everlasting and it is okay to talk about, remember and honor their babies.”
Learn more about Wave of Light on our Facebook event page. MercyOne also offers families experiencing pregnancy loss a bereavement bundle and a monthly Hope and Healing support group.
Wave of Light Ceremony
- Sunday, Oct. 15
- MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center, rooms one and two
- 6:30 p.m. indoor ceremony
- 7 p.m. luminary lighting outdoors
