‘Beau’s Bags’ project offers comfort
to mothers facing loss of a child
Sabrina Miller has a mes-
sage for mothers who’ve lost
children through stillbirth:
You’re not alone, and it’s all
right to talk about it.
“I learned when we deliv-
ered my son stillborn that I
had an amazing support sys-
tem,” said the Jackson resi-
dent. “Now I want to bring a
small amount of peace and
comfort to other moms at
what is the worst time of
their lives.”
After Miller delivered her
son Beau in early May at
Oaklawn’s Birth Center, a
group of her friends met at a
nearby store for an errand of
compassion. They filled two
large bags with a blanket as
well as snacks that they knew
would be welcomed by
Sabrina and her husband,
Brenden.
“It meant so much to me
that they cared enough about
me and my family to go out
of their way and do that for
us,” Sabrina Miller wrote on
her Facebook page at http://www.
facebook.com/beauslegacy.
Miller plans to continue
her work as a preschool
teacher in Mason. The
Millers have two other chil-dren, Abraham and Caleb.
A few weeks after the
family’s sad experience,
Miller began journaling
about the circumstances and
decided she would do some-
thing similar to her friends’
positive actions to help other
mothers facing a similar
grief.
To keep her son’s memory
alive, Miller launched Beau’s
Bags, a project through
which she provides comfort-
ing items to area hospitals,
with the intent that they’ll be
presented to any mother
whose child passes away.
“Most of the bags have
had a water bottle, some
relaxing hygiene products, a
blanket, a journal, a pen and
a note from me,” Miller said.
The note includes a list of
resources the mother may
find useful for financial and
emotional assistance.
In early June, Miller visit-
ed Oaklawn to provide the
first such bag, which later
was given to a mother at the
hospital.
“The kindness this family
has shown us at the Birth
Center has been overwhelm-
ing,” said Tracee Hathaway,
who serves as a charge nurse.
“The family sent flowers to
each nurse that cared for
them, along with the physi-
cian who delivered Beau.
When we read the letter
Sabrina wrote to us, there
wasn’t a dry eye on the unit.”“Knowing we’re bringing
a momma even an ounce of
comfort in all of the pain
makes all of the vulnerability
I’m putting into this worth
it,” Miller wrote on her
Facebook page.
Miller initially funded the
project herself, and now is
accepting donations to carry
the project further. She may
be contacted at babybeau-[email protected] or
through her Facebook site.
Several Oaklawn staff
members specialize in peri-
natal bereavement and the
Birth Center offers the fami-
ly a variety of ways to honor
their child’s memory, includ-
ing an annual “Walk to
Remember” event, Hathaway
said.
“This is just a portion ofwhat our staff does to help
make a difference during
such a difficult time in these
parent’s lives,” she said.
“Although Sabrina called
our nurses ‘superheroes,’ we
believe she and her family
are the real superheroes.
They are a source of comfort
by sharing these items and
offering support to other par-
ents.”Sabrina and Brenden Miller of Jackson deliver a new set of “Beau’s Bags” during a
recent visit to the Oaklawn Birth Center in Marshall. The couple’s effort serves as a
mission of comfort and compassion for expectant mothers who experience grief over
the loss of their child.LOCAL 269-337-
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