In the world, 1 in 4 pregnancies end in a loss, whether through miscarriage, stillbirth or a heartbreaking diagnosis. When a baby dies, the parents’ hearts break, too. But a Central Florida organization helps ease their pain by turning wedding dresses into remembrances of their beloved little one.
“It’s a beautiful thing, and I just love it,” said Edith Kalahar, 66, who has volunteered to sew for the program since 2014. A lifelong seamstress, she was inspired by an article in a local newspaper about the Angel Gown Program at Riley Children’s Health in Indianapolis. The nurse who started the program had reached out to her friends, asking them to help her recruit seamstresses to make gowns for infants who pass away in their hospital’s NICU.
Kalahar has donated hundreds of dresses to the cause. She washes them, cuts them into small sizes and sews them together. She has also made bonnets and sleeping bags for the babies. “These are things they will remember, so we want them to be nice,” she says. The gowns are free to families, and some are even embroidered with the baby’s name. “It’s a special moment when they see the gown and are able to take it home with them,” she says.
The program has grown exponentially since its inception in 1998, with donations of dresses coming from all over the country and beyond. Its founder, Dawn Corey, a longtime seamstress, created the nonprofit to ensure that families who have experienced loss can receive a special keepsake for their child.
Today, Touching Little Lives provides about 25 gowns per month to hospitals in Ohio, and the organization is expanding to other states. “We are trying to reach as many families as possible,” said infant loss coordinator Katrina Durst, whose organization also distributes blankets and other items for the tiny babies.
Levine Children’s Hospital has a comfort team that works with nurses and families who are caring for babies who may not survive their stay in the NICU. One of the members of the team, Melissa Tyo, a neonatologist, says they identified the need for angel gowns and are working to improve how they are distributed.
Tom and Deanna Williamson lost their son, Eli, shortly after his birth in 2011. They rely on a program at their hospital that uses donated angel gowns to dress babies who never come home. They know the gowns give parents a sense of dignity and peace. They are among many NICU families who have used them. The Williamsons are grateful to the seamstresses who volunteer to make the garments, including Mary Bauer, a member of Columbus Christ Child Society. She has helped make about 200 angel gowns and offers kits to people who want to try sewing them before they commit to it long-term. She has found that some people are just not cut out to be seamstresses, but she wants to help as many as she can.