AHN's Annual Butterfly Release Supports Local Families Grieving Neonatal Loss
By: KDKA-TV News Staff
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A showing of support for families who have lost a baby was held on Sunday.
Allegheny Health Network's AngelHeart Perinatal Bereavement Team hosted its annual butterfly release event.
Because of the pandemic, families drove up and were given a live butterfly, which they could release at their home in memory of their child.
They were also given a poem they could read during the private ceremony.
The team hopes to shine a spotlight on neonatal loss.
"They were just so thankful that we didn't forget and we weren't going to do nothing so we wanted to do something for them," said Sandra Stanley with West Penn Hospital's AngelHeart Perinatal Bereavement Team.
"What we're really trying to do is to make a cultural change to spread awareness and to shift the culture from perinatal loss, child loss from being something taboo and not spoken about to something that's honored and remembered. That's what I hope," said Dr. Marta Kolthoff, the Clinical Lead of Olivia's Angels.
The team is an integral part of AHN's program, Olivia's Angels.
The program provides palliative, hospice and grieving care and guidance for families preparing for or following the loss of their baby.
