I am the 1 in 4, and there are likely many more people you know who are as well, though you may not even realize it. It is estimated that 1 in 4 pregnancies ends in loss, so miscarriage affects everyone even if you aren’t aware of it.
For me, this lack of awareness was the hardest part of my loss. That our friends didn’t know we were trying to conceive. Having to smile through ‘harmless’ inquiries about when we’d have kids. We’re told to keep our pregnancies private until 12 weeks when the risk of miscarriage drops – but I believe we need to share our joy so we feel safe sharing our grief if it comes.
That is why I’m so proud to work for a company like Lil Helper. More than on a mission to provide beautiful, zero waste family products, Lil Helper believes in supporting communities, and has made pregnancy and infant loss awareness a key part of our mission.
Here’s how we do it.
- The God Forbid Guarantee
As parents ourselves, Pregnancy and Infant Loss is a subject very near and dear to the hearts of everyone at Lil Helper. In fact, after a chance encounter with a very special customer on Facebook in 2016, our CEO Mohammed introduced a Guarantee Policy unique to Lil Helpers to address this very issue– The God Forbid Guarantee.
Statistics say that between 17-22% of pregnancies end in miscarriage every year. Furthermore, 4.1 million deaths of infants less than 1 year old were reported in 2017, as well as an estimated 2.6 million stillbirths (source).
These numbers are staggering and heart breaking.
In February of 2016, our CEO Mohammed was browsing Facebook when he came across a sale post from a very special customer. She was looking to sell her brand new, recently purchased Lil Helper diapers because she had tragically lost her daughter at birth.
Mohammed was devastated to read about her loss.
Following this exchange, Mohammed went on to implement our ‘God Forbid Guarantee’. This guarantee states that if you should experience the loss of your infant before or during delivery, Lil Helper will gladly refund your entire purchase price.
Furthermore, we will ask that you keep the diapers either for yourself to use with future ‘rainbow’ babies, or to rehome them to a person or charity of your choosing.
It feels like the very least we can do to alleviate just a tiny fraction of the stress & anguish that parents feel following such a monumental, life altering, tragedy. One day we hope to see more companies institute similar policies for their valued customer family.
If you should ever find yourself in a position where you need to make use of the God Forbid Guarantee, please email us at delight@lilhelper.ca, or call us toll free at 1-877-2-877-930.
- Supporting parents, starting conversations
Another part of Lil Helper that we are immensely proud of is the community we have built. Our customers are family, and we aim to support them through all aspects of parenting.
Our Lil Helper: Unsnapped Facebook Group is one of the most supportive parenting communities you will find online. In our group you can find positive discussions on everything from first foods to coping with sleep deprivation. We pride ourselves on the family we have built, and the generosity of our customers always amazes us. Of course, we speak about pregnancy and infant loss honestly and openly in this group as well.
Outside of Facebook, we also keep our resources up to date on our blog, where we share stories of early pregnancy loss and late miscarriage, as well as advice on when to tell people you are pregnant. Our goal is always to build community first. Many of us are the 1 in 4, and no one should go through pregnancy or infant loss alone.
- Rainbow Baby and the Charities Supported
As a part of Lil Helper’s commitment to giving back to our community, we donate $10 from the sale of each Rainbow Baby charcoal cloth diaper to charity.
These charities were chosen by a group of extraordinary women who graciously shared their stories with us. We shared their stories across social media when we launched our Rainbow Baby print to bring awareness to pregnancy and infant loss.
At the same time we launched this initiative, the news and video of the murder of George Floyd shook the world. We took some time to consider what we could do.
Saying Black Lives Matter as a company is not hard… but we wanted to back it up with more than just a statement.
As a company, we only say things we mean. And the only way we can show we mean it is by doing something about it.
As a community we knew we should support and throw our weight, as tiny and as inconsequential as it might be, to show solidarity with our black brothers and sisters.
It is in that spirit that, after discussions with the women who participated in our Rainbow Baby Stories project, we made the decision to divert 25% of the proceeds that we had collected from our Rainbow Baby diaper print to donate to Black Mamas Matter. In partnership with the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) and SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, their mission is to create a world where black mamas have the rights, respect, and resources to thrive before, during, and after pregnancy.
Want to celebrate your rainbow baby with this print but not into cloth diapering? We offer this print in a wide range of our products from smockets and bibs to lifesaver mats.
It is time for a shift in how we see pregnancy, loss, and the baby product industry. With so many of us a part of the 1 in 4 community, we believe it is the responsibility of companies like ours to make space for these stories, these losses, and take action to support women and families so no one feels they are alone in their loss.
We hope you’ll join our community and find it as empowering and supportive as we do.
