Across the country, volunteer seamstresses like Terry Bauer stitch up gowns from donated wedding dresses. Those little burial garments, also known as angel gowns, are then offered to hospitals and families for free.
For those who have suffered the unimaginable loss of an infant, the gown is a small measure of comfort. Bauer, a nurse in the cardiovascular surgery ICU at Mayo Clinic, sees firsthand how important it is to provide these gowns for grieving families.
Bauer started a Facebook page, Angel Gowns of Central Ohio, to collect the dresses used to make the tiny garments, and she sends a box of them each month to area hospitals. The gowns are sized to fit any baby, from micro-preemies to those born full term.
“It’s just one way that I can serve families who are going through the loss of their child,” she says. She has heard of hospitals using towels, and she says many families purchase doll clothes to bury their babies in. “With these gowns, it’s just one less thing that they have to worry about,” she adds.
For many families, the gown is a cherished keepsake that allows them to take a photograph of their baby, if they choose to do so. It is a symbol of their baby’s life and a reminder of the love they have for him or her.
In addition to angel gowns, she and her volunteers also make blankets, prayer shawls, and caps for infants who are born with medical complications. Often, these children do not survive their births, but the blankets help to keep the parents warm and comfortable.
Bauer and her group hope to continue to expand their reach, too. They would like to have a presence at local hospital baby showers and have been invited to speak about their work at church services, community events, and other meetings. They are also working on a website to make it easier for people from other parts of the state to request gowns.
The Northridge Hospital team pictured here is happy to be a part of the program, and the initial box of angel gowns has already been delivered to them. Those who are interested in donating their wedding dresses to this special project can learn more about the international program by clicking here. This allows donors to follow the journey of their dresses to a developing country, virtually meet their seamstress, and even send some of their gowns back to their states for donation.
626,000 infants die each year in the US from stillbirth or miscarriage, and many of their families do not have a gown for them. Each of these precious angels deserve to be remembered and celebrated.
We thank our partners at Dignity Health – St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach for collaborating with us to deliver these special gowns to grieving families.
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