Still Remembered Project
Celebrates First Anniversary
One in four women experience miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal death. The Still Remembered
Project helps raise awareness about pregnancy and infant loss.
W
hat began as a support group
for bereaved mothers has
grown into a successful
nonprofit organization that
also helps raise awareness about pregnancy
and infant loss.
The board members of the Still
Remembered Project recently celebrated
the one-year anniversary of the program’s
official incorporation as a nonprofit.
According to the group, one in four
women will experience miscarriage,
stillbirth or neonatal death. Although
it is a prevalent issue, board treasurer
Melissa Ibella says many people find it
difficult to talk about the subject. All the
board members, including Ibella, have
experienced loss of a pregnancy or infant.
“My first child passed away at 39 weeks
and was born after 20 hours of labor,”
Ibella explains. “I was surprised by how
many people didn’t want to see him.
I was surprised by how many people
didn’t want to say his name. It makes
a lot of people uncomfortable to talk
about a child they never met. It made
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BY PAUL GLASSER
me uncomfortable until I was part of this
community. I had to deal with it in my own
way. Over time, it became something I felt
very passionate about.”
The Still Remembered Project began as
a peer support group for bereaved mothers
six years ago. The support group still meets
from 7 to 9 p.m. on the second Thursday of
every month at Panera Bread in the Galleria
Mall on Route 19 in Mt. Lebanon. About
60 women have joined the support group.
However, the organization has implemented
a number of other programs designed to
support families who have experienced
pregnancy and infant loss and raise
awareness about the issue.
Board members and volunteers create
memory boxes for bereaved mothers that
include handmade keepsakes, such as a
small teddy bear and a journal. About 100
memory boxes have been provided to
hospitals in the Pittsburgh area and medical
staff present the kits to bereaved mothers
at the appropriate time. The boxes are
intended to help the mother create her own
memories. Board member Pamela McNally
Shaw says she wished she had a memory
box when her daughter was born without a
heartbeat in 2010.
“I didn’t know what to do,” she laments. “I
didn’t take a lot of pictures. I didn’t think it
was going to happen to me but when it did,
I thought, ‘Oh my God, what do I do?’”
Ibella agrees and says many mothers
feel rushed because they don’t have much
time to spend with their deceased children.
“They only have a small window of time
to accomplish what amounts to a lifetime
of memories,” she says. “Time is of the
essence.”