Along with this changing ability to help parents deal with their loss have come various rituals. Increasing numbers of parents are recognizing how such rituals provide connection to their community, a sense of the sacred and an outlet to do something about their grief. Some of the rituals actually come from other cultures that are much more open about the subject of death. In Japan, for example, the traditional Jizo ritual has grown considerably over the last couple of decades, since in Japan little distinction is made between pregnancies lost to miscarriage and those to abortion. The ceremony recognizes the need for the mother to apologize for whatever guilt she may be carrying about the pregnancy loss. She may light a candle, make offerings, or tie a red knitted bonnet or bib on a small stone statue. or, the grieving Japanese woman may write the name of a lost pregnancy...
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