About WiSSP

Catherine A. Reiser, M.S.

National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month
In 1988 President Reagan proclaimed October as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. Since then, many bereavement support groups plan activities during October in remembrance of babies who have died. Those activities encompass many opportunities for com-memoration, including such events as tree plantings, memorial services, Walks to Remember, etc. You may want to check with your local parent support group to see if they are planning any special events for Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. If not, maybe you yourself have some ideas for helping families you know remember their babies who have died. Now may be a good time to call, send a remembrance card, follow-up in another special way.

Conference Update
Dr. Pauli will be attending the Perinatal Bereavement Conference, Beautiful Sunrise, Bittersweet Sunset, in Scottsdale, Arizona on October 17-19.

SHARE has announced their national conference dates for 1997: October 10-12 in St. Louis, Missouri. They will be celebrating 20 years of support for families after pregnancy or infant loss. They are currently accepting proposals for speakers/panels. For more information contact the National SHARE Office at 1-800-821-6819.

In This Issue
The last issue of WiSSPers (Vol. 3, No. 2) included an Introduction to Cytogenetics. The In Depth segment in this issue contains part 2, "Chromosomes and Stillbirth: Abnormalities in Stillborns". Pertinent questions to WiSSP about chromosome analysis will be answered in this month’s R.S.V.P. section.

Also in this issue, Dr. Les Biesecker of the NIH contributed a summary of his research into unexplained causes of stillbirth. Dr. Biesecker is also featured in Personal Portraits.