The sudden death of a baby is a devastating tragedy. One day an apparently normal, healthy baby fails to wake up. This is totally unexpected, for who imagines that any infant or child will die before its parents do? A baby that has become the center of a mother's boundless love is suddenly the focus of her boundless grief.
Guilt feelings begin to flood in. The parents may feel responsible for the death, as if it were due to some neglect. They ask themselves, 'What could we have done to prevent it?' * In some cases the husband, without foundation, might even unconsciously blame his wife. When he went to work, the baby was alive and healthy. When he got home, it had died in its crib! What was his wife doing? Where was she at the time? These plaguing questions have to be cleared up so that they do not put a strain on the marriage.
Unforeseen and unforeseeable circumstances caused the tragedy. The Bible states: "I returned to see under the sun that the swift do not have the race, nor the mighty ones the battle, nor do the wise also have the food, nor do the understanding ones also have the riches, nor do even those having knowledge have the favor; because time and unforeseen occurrence befall them all."—Ecclesiastes 9:11.
How can others help when a family loses a baby? One bereaved mother responded: "One friend came and cleaned up my house without my having to say a word. Others made meals for us. Some just helped by giving me a hug—no words, just a hug. I didn't want to talk about it. I didn't want to have to explain over and over again what had happened. I didn't need prying questions, as if I had failed to do something. I was the mother; I would have done anything to save my baby." |
