Losing a baby is a pain like no other. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by emotion. This kind of loss is extremely personal and people may have a hard time sharing their experience.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- To Help You Mourn a Miscarriage
- To Help You Mourn a Stillborn
- To Help You Mourn an Infant Son or Daughter
It can be difficult to know what to say. And finding the right quote to include in a card is hard. Below, we’ve provided some quotes that can help convey your sympathies.
To Help You Mourn a Miscarriage
Many mothers say that grieving a miscarriage is a solitary burden. As something rarely talked about it can be hard to find the right words. We have cards and social responses for all kinds of losses, but not a miscarriage. Consider one of the messages below as a way to support those grieving.
1. “Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in our hearts.” -A.A. Milne
This is a reminder that the pain for a baby that never grew up is still valid.
2. “A life need not be long-lived, for it to have been meaningful.” -Unknown
The impact of a miscarriage on the hearts of parents is tragic, no matter how short the pregnancy was.
3. “A mother is never defined by the number of children you see, but by the love she holds in her heart.” -Unknown
Most women who miscarry aren't acknowledged as mothers, which only adds to their pain. Help your loved one feel seen by acknowledging her motherhood.
4. “You never arrived in my arms, but you will never leave my heart.” -Unknown
Affirming a miscarried child’s permanent place in a mother’s heart is a kind gesture.
5. “... We may be separated today, but nothing will ever change the fact that you made me a mom.” -Unknown
Once a mom, always a mom.
6. “ How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." -A.A. Milne
Love is such a beautiful, yet painful emotion. That is especially true when coupled with loss.
7. “The best and most beautiful things in our world cannot be seen, nor touched, but are felt in the heart.” -Unknown
Affirming the beauty of life, no matter how short, is important.
8. “How very quietly you tiptoed into the world, only for a moment you stayed. But what an imprint your tiny footprints left on our hearts.” -Dorothy Ferguson
Children always stay in a parent’s heart, whether they get to grow up or not.
9. “Grief is like the ocean; it comes on in waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim." -Unknown
Acknowledging the sharp pain of grief is sometimes the only thing you can do.
10. "Grief, I’ve learned, is love. It’s all the love you want to give but cannot give. The more you loved someone, the more you grieve.” -Jamie Anderson
All the love that you never had a chance to give turns into powerful grief.
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To Help You Mourn a Stillborn
Mourning a stillborn is a unique difficulty. Never getting a chance to know your baby is a terrible thing. One of these quotes can help convey your sympathies to the grieving family.
11."Even those that never blossom bring beauty into the world." -Unknown
Reminding a parent that their child’s birth wasn’t meaningless can bring them comfort.
12. Some of us are mommies of children, some of us are mommies of angels, and some of us are mommies of both. We are all mommies." -Alycia de Lucio
Some people would say the role of a parent starts when you have a child in your arms. Acknowledging the bereaved as parents shows sympathy in a difficult time.
13. "To lose a child is to lose a piece of yourself." -Dr. Burton Grebin
Acknowledge the loss for what it is—a loss of self.
14. "Some say you are too painful to remember. I say you are too precious to forget." -Unknown
Pretending something never happened doesn’t make it easier. Honor the legacy this child left behind.
15. "We talk about them, not because we're stuck or because we haven't moved on. We talk about them because we are theirs, and they are ours, and no passage of time can change that." -Unknown
Once a child is yours, nothing can change that.
16. “Each new life, no matter how brief, forever changes the world.” -Unknown
Every new life matters, no matter how long it was.
17. “Listen to my footfall in your heart. I am not gone but merely walk within you.”-Unknown
Those we love are always with us.
18. “There is no foot too small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world.” -Unknown
A baby leaves an impression. Every life matters to someone. Help the bereaved know their child is remembered.
19. “A life may last for a moment, but memory can make that moment last forever.”-Unknown
A child will always be in present in memory. Those that knew them will never forget.
20. “The one who left gentle footprints on our hearts left a story worth telling.”-Unknown
Each child, no matter how long they lived, has a story worth sharing.
If you're looking for more quotes, read our guide on quotes about babies.
To Help You Mourn an Infant Son or Daughter
Losing a child is a terrible thing to experience. What words can you use to express your condolences? Consider something that recognizes the grief of the parents. And honors the memory of their child.
21. “As long as I can, I will look at this world for both of us, as long as I can, I will laugh with the birds, I will sing with the flowers, I will pray to the stars, for both of us.” -Unknown
As a parent, your life is forever intertwined with your child’s.
22. “A mother's grief is as timeless as her love.” - Joanne Cacciatore
It may feel like grief is more powerful than any emotion ever experienced. Use this quote to recognize the love felt by the deceased’s mother.
23. “Nothing will ever take away our memories. May your memories be ones that give you comfort and reminders of happier times.” -Unknown
Memories matter.
24. “Our words are useless unless they come from the bottom of the heart.” -Mother Teresa
Use this as a preface to a heartfelt message.
25. “Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.” -Richard Puz
No one can take memories away.
26. “He spake well who said that graves are the footprints of angels.” -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Never forgotten.
27. “Sometimes it's hard to see the rainbow when there have been endless days of rain.” -Christina Greer
In grief, it can be hard to see the positive side of things. But sometimes death means an end to suffering. Reminding the bereaved of this could help them with their grief.
28. “Your absence has gone through me like a thread through a needle. Everything I do is stitched with its color.” -W.S. Merwin
Grief seeps into every part of life and changes it forever. Make sure your loved ones know it's okay for them to be different after their loss.
29. “It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.” -Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy
Grief will never disappear completely, but it will change. This could be a good quote to send on the anniversary of someone’s death. Make sure your loved one knows that continuing to grieve is okay.
30. “Grief is just love with no place to go.” - Jamie Anderson
A reminder that grief is felt because of intense love.
31. "I guess love wasn't enough for us to survive./I swear, I swear, I swear I tried./You took the life right out of me./I'm so unlucky. I can't breathe./You took the life right out of me./I'm longing for your heartbeat, heartbeat." -Beyonce
Honor the sense of longing the bereaved is feeling.
32. “Life is the only thing which can never be replaced when lost.” -Lailah Gifty Akita
No matter what, there’s no replacement for what is gone.
33. "When a child is born, it is the mother's instinct to protect the baby. When a child dies, it is the mother's instinct to protect the memory." -Unknown
A parent never forgets their child.
34. “There is no right way to grieve; there is only your way to grieve and that is different for everyone.” -Nathalie Himmelrich
Grieving is a process. There’s no right way to go about it.
Coping and Healing
These quotes are appropriate for all kinds of grief. The most important thing is not the words. It is the emotion and support you convey. Even if what you write isn’t perfect, that's okay. Make it heartfelt, and that will be enough.