The Saamis Tepee is lit blue and pink this week for Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day on Oct. 15. (Photo Courtesy Derek Brade)

By Chris Brown

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day

Saamis Tepee lit, Walk to Remember to honour lives lost far too soon

Oct 13, 2021 | 4:58 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The Saamis Tepee will be lit pink and blue for the rest of the week and a special walk will be held Sunday to show support to families who have lost babies or have suffered loss due to miscarriage or stillbirth.

This Friday, Oct. 15, is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day.

Heather Bach, executive director of the Medicine Hat & District Health Foundation, says the goal of the lighting of the teepee and the walk is to help people feel more comfortable talking about a very difficult subject.

“I think people would be surprised how many families encounter pregnancy and infant loss. I think we’d all be shocked at the numbers,” she says. “Probably your neighbour or your friend or somebody that you know that maybe hasn’t shared it. So definitely it’s to help discuss it a little bit more.”

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She says going through such a tragedy is on families and that they often feel ashamed and guilty.

“This is just an opportunity, just like mental health, it’s an opportunity to talk more about it and raise some more awareness,” Bach adds.

On Sunday the health foundation will host a Walk to Remember at Police Point Park from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Bach says there is no formal gathering or start and finish time. The walk is free and everyone is welcome to participate.

Bach says families can pre-register and choose to have their loved one’s name highlighted on the walk and receive a rose.

“It’s really just a time of reflection and honouring and sometimes you get to meet other families experiencing the same situation and find some support in it as well,” she explains.

Bach adds the teepee is being lit all week so that people who can’t make it to the Sunday walk or aren’t comfortable attending “can visit the teepee and still honour and do some remembering at their own time.”