Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support: Free Groups, Helplines, and Resources

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month

Losing a pregnancy or a baby leaves most people with nowhere obvious to go, and it can feel as though no one around you understands what you are carrying. Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month exists in part to change that. Today, there is much more support available than there used to be, including virtual groups and online communities where you can connect with others who have experienced loss. 

Many of the families who come to Donor Nexus have been through loss along the way, and we know how much the right support can mean when grief feels heavy. We've gathered a list of organizations with free resources below to help you find community, comfort, and hope.

Where can I find free support after pregnancy or infant loss?

Five national organizations offer this support at no cost, and between them they cover daily peer groups, one-to-one mentoring, licensed therapy, helplines in English and Spanish, and financial help with funeral costs.

What does Chasing the Rainbows offer?

Chasing the Rainbows runs nine free programs and is the only organization on this list that covers infertility, miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss under one roof, which matters when your own history spans more than one of those.¹

Bernice Quesenberry founded Chasing the Rainbows in 2021 after losing her daughter, Brooke. In her words:

"I searched everywhere for help, but nothing existed that offered daily support, or a place to be seen, heard, and held in the middle of the grief. We were overwhelmed with scattered resources—some irrelevant, others unresponsive. It felt like we were grieving in silence. And I knew: no one should have to go through this alone."

Bernice Quesenberry, founder of Chasing the Rainbows

The programs include daily virtual bereavement groups, a peer mentor program that matches you with someone whose loss resembles yours, individual trauma therapy through relationships the organization holds with licensed therapists so that families skip the waitlists and the bills, a funeral assistance program for families facing burial costs, care packages, an online chat community, guided mindfulness and breathwork videos, and the Cry It Out Loud! podcast.¹ Everything is virtual and open nationwide. You can register through chasingtherainbows.org, or call (717) 801-1518.

Which kind of support fits what you need?

Support comes in several different formats, and each one helps in its own way, so if the first one you try doesn't feel right, another may suit you better.

• A helpline is a good first step when you need to talk to someone right away. You don't have to know what you want to say, and both Share and PSI staff their lines with people who have been through a loss themselves.
• A peer group can be a comfort in the days, months, and even years after a loss. Being with others who understand can make those moments feel less lonely, and because Chasing the Rainbows holds groups every day, there is one available whenever a hard day comes.
• A peer mentor offers one-on-one support from someone who has been through a similar loss, which can feel more comfortable if sharing in a group feels like too much right now. Star Legacy and Chasing the Rainbows both take the details of your loss into account when they pair you with a mentor, so the person you talk to is more likely to understand what you are going through.
• Therapy is for grief that has settled into something heavier, or where trauma from a birth or a hospital stay is part of it. Chasing the Rainbows covers the cost through its own therapist relationships, and Postpartum Support International keeps a directory of perinatal mental health providers if you would rather find your own.
• A hospital perinatal bereavement program is the place to start if your loss happened in a hospital. Many hospitals have a nurse or social worker trained in perinatal bereavement who can help with arrangements and point you to local groups, and some run follow-up calls or groups of their own, so ask the unit where you were treated whether they have one.

What happens during Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month?

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month in the United States, a designation President Ronald Reagan first proclaimed in 1988, and its central observance is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day on October 15.⁷ That evening, families around the world take part in the International Wave of Light: participants light a candle at 7:00 p.m. in their own time zone and let it burn for at least an hour, so a continuous band of light travels around the world as each zone reaches the hour.

Chasing the Rainbows organizes much of what happens around that date. It hosts candlelight vigils in communities nationwide on the 15th, and through its Light Up the Sky campaign more than 140 landmarks, bridges, and buildings across all 50 states are lit in pink and blue from October 1 through October 15. Its Every Baby Loss Matters billboard campaign runs nationally through the month, there are community challenges during Baby Loss Awareness Week, and its gala is on October 17 in York, Pennsylvania.⁶ If you photograph a vigil or a lit landmark, the campaign hashtag is #HonorOutLoud.

You do not have to do any of it publicly. Lighting a candle at your kitchen table and telling nobody counts the same as a vigil.

How can I support someone after a pregnancy or infant loss?

• Say the baby's name if the baby was named. Many parents worry that their baby will be forgotten, so hearing someone else say the name out loud can mean more than you might expect.
• Gently skip the silver linings. Phrases like "everything happens for a reason" are usually meant kindly, but they can hurt. A simple "I'm so sorry, and I'm here for you" is often the most comforting thing you can say.
• Remember the dates. The due date and the anniversary of the loss can be some of the hardest days of the year, and a short text or card letting them know you're thinking of their baby can help them feel less alone.
• Offer something specific. "Let me know if you need anything" comes from a good place, but it leaves the asking up to someone who may not have the energy. Offering something concrete, like dropping off dinner on Thursday or picking up groceries, makes it much easier to say yes.
• Keep checking in. Support tends to pour in during the first few weeks and then fade, often just as the shock wears off and the grief feels heaviest. A message a month or two later, or even a year later, reminds them that their baby hasn't been forgotten.

Frequently asked questions

Are pregnancy loss support groups free?

The national organizations in this article run their peer groups, helplines, and peer mentor matching at no cost, and several ship printed bereavement materials free as well. Chasing the Rainbows also covers individual trauma therapy through its own relationships with licensed therapists. The one exception to watch for is professionally led groups booked through RESOLVE, where the facilitator may charge.

How soon after a loss can I join a support group?

There is no waiting period and no referral needed. You can join a group the same week, and you can also join one years later, which people do more often than you would think. Chasing the Rainbows runs groups daily, so there is usually something within a day of whenever you decide you are ready.

Is there support if my loss happened during IVF or after an embryo transfer?

Yes. RESOLVE's peer-led groups are built around infertility, so the treatment vocabulary is already shared, and Star Legacy runs groups specifically for pregnancy after loss. Chasing the Rainbows covers infertility and loss together. Many patients say the emotional support from their clinic drops off after an unsuccessful cycle, so if you find yourself looking elsewhere for comfort, that it is completely normal and understandable.  

Is there support for partners, grandparents, and siblings?

Share explicitly supports parents, grandparents, siblings, extended family, and friends, along with the clinicians who care for bereaved families. Postpartum Support International and Chasing the Rainbows also welcome partners into their groups. 

Is pregnancy loss support available in Spanish?

Yes. Share runs Share Español: Esperanza for Spanish-speaking families, and Postpartum Support International takes calls in Spanish on 1-800-944-4773 by pressing 1, or by text at 971-203-7773.

What is the Wave of Light?

On October 15, people light a candle at 7:00 p.m. in their own time zone and let it burn for at least an hour, in memory of babies lost to miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death. Because each time zone reaches 7:00 p.m. in turn, the candles form a continuous wave of light around the world. Chasing the Rainbows hosts vigils nationwide the same evening.

Sources

1. Chasing the Rainbows. Support programs, events, and volunteering. Accessed September 2026.
2. Share Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support. nationalshare.org. Accessed September 2026.
3. Star Legacy Foundation. Pregnancy loss resources. Accessed September 2026.
4. Postpartum Support International. Loss and grief in pregnancy and postpartum. Accessed September 2026.
5. RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association. Find a support group. Accessed September 2026.
6. Chasing the Rainbows. Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month 2026: Wave of Light and Every Baby Loss Matters.
7. Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Proclamation 5890: Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, 1988.

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