Prayers for When a Little One Dies

When grief feels impossible to put into words, prayer can help you bring even your deepest pain to God.

When a child dies before or shortly after birth—also known as perinatal loss—the pain can be overwhelming. In the midst of miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant loss, difficult questions often take over: Why, God? Did we do something wrong? What sense is there in this? What now? Are you even there, God? Is it wrong that I am angry?

In Prayers for When a Little One Dies: A Catholic Companion for Facing Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Loss, Abigail Jorgensen, Catholic mom, loss parent, sociologist, and bereavement doula, offers compassionate words for those navigating the unique grief of perinatal loss. After experiencing loss with her husband, Jorgensen learned firsthand how prayer can console and comfort, give voice to difficult emotions, and help families slowly move toward hope and healing.

This collection of more than 150 original prayers gives voice to the many emotions and experiences that accompany miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss. Written for mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings, extended family members, and friends, as well as medical professionals, Catholic clergy, pastoral ministers, and other caregivers, these prayers meet people in moments when it can be difficult—or even impossible—to know what to say to God.

Prayers for When a Little One Dies is organized into four sections making it easy to find the right words, tone, and length of prayer to express what you are feeling or ask God for what you need. They follow the broad timeline families experience when little ones die:

• Prayers When Getting Bad News
• Prayers for Delivering Baby or Baby’s Body
• Prayers and Simple Rituals for Saying Goodbye
• Prayers for Awaiting the Hope of Heaven

You will find original prayers from the author, such as these:

• When Unsure Whether a Pregnancy Occurred
• During a Threatened Loss
• While Waiting for Test Results
• A Father’s Prayer During Uncertainty
• A Dad’s Prayer During an Appointment When He Couldn’t Get Off Work
• When Getting a Hard Diagnosis
• Prayer of Anger and Confusion
• Prayer While Carrying a Baby Who Has Died
• In Numbness
• When Advocating for Oneself in a Medical Setting
• Before Deciding a Plan of Care
• On the Day of Birth
• Prayer of a Twice-Bereaved Father and Spouse
• In the Face of Silence
• In Gratitude for the Family’s Love
• Prayer of Chosen Family
• For Visiting a Grave
• Thanksgiving for the People Who Helped

The book also includes access to a free downloadable collection of prayers for those who support and advocate for loss parents and families. These prayers are written for

• hospital chaplains and medical professionals;
• social workers, counselors, and other mental health professionals;
• priests, deacons, and lay parish leaders;
• funeral directors, florists, and cemetery personnel;
• those who write policies in health care, the insurance industry, government, and within the Church; and
• those studying perinatal loss and grief or preparing for careers in loss support.

Above all, Prayers for When a Little One Dies offers the reassurance that no experience, no pain, no emotion, and no loss is beyond the compassion, mercy, and love of God.

• Pages: 192
• Trim size: 5 x 7 inches
• ISBN: 978-1-64680-511-2