In the grand tapestry of life there are moments of immense joy, and heartbreaking sorrow. For families who lose a baby during pregnancy or at birth, the loss can be unimaginable and overwhelming. A local seamstress has been working to comfort these parents by stitching tiny gowns from donated wedding dresses. It’s a project known as angel gowns.
In 2014, Edith Beck saw an article about a program at Riley Children’s Health in Indianapolis where nurses were asking local seamstresses to help create memorial gowns for babies who would never leave the hospital because they died due to complications from prematurity or were stillborn. The 66-year-old retired labor and delivery nurse from Twin Cities saw the need, and she decided to help.
Since that time, she’s turned the snippets of donated wedding dresses into more than 500 angel gowns and other items. She says the dress is a symbol of love and the gowns are a way to honor a baby’s brief but precious life. She says it can be a difficult task to work on these gowns, especially because of the emotional attachment many mothers have to their babies.
The gowns have been given to hospitals throughout the area and in other states. Recently, a man in Spokane sent a dress to her because he had lost his daughter and knew how special it would be for a family to have this special gown for their infant.
While she’s not a bereavement counselor, she has helped many grieving families. She says she hopes that these gowns can bring some small measure of comfort during a very sad and trying time.
She is one of about 50 seamstresses nationwide that creates the gowns for a nonprofit called NICU Helping Hands. The organization also provides infant loss items to hospitals across the country. The coordinator of the organization, Katrina Durst, says if she needs a gown for a local hospital in central Ohio, Bauer is usually the first person she contacts.
Bauer isn’t a bereavement counselor, but she says sewing these gowns is her ministry. She says she doesn’t think losing a child will ever go away, but she hopes these gowns let grieving families know they’re not alone.
For more information about the NICU Helping Hands program and how you can help, click here. You can also donate a wedding dress to the organization and follow the journey of your dress to a developing country (Guatemala is currently the location). You’ll also get to virtually meet your seamstress, who will explain the impact your donation has made. KFYR’s Kimberly Bjornstad contributed to this report.