October 15th is International Baby Loss Day.  It is a day intended not only to remember those sweet angels who didn’t make it home with their Mummies and Daddies, but to raise awareness of the issues that lead to such tragedies and ways to stop these deaths.

No parent should have to bury a child.

It is not the natural order of life

And yet, it happens. Far more often than you realise.

Scroll down the page here and see all the gorgeous babies I have been lucky enough to photograph.  Such hope, promise and joy in each little face and in the faces of their parents. But there are photos I don’t blog. I am fortunate enough to have been accepted as a photographer for the ACOCP, an organisation that exists to immortalise in images, the few moments these families have together as whole families. I have taken photos of little angels on the verge of getting their wings, and although I don’t blog about those kids, they are the very reason I became a photographer in the first place.

There are many organisations who have interests in International Baby Loss Day. My interest is specifically in making the Australian public aware of the Australian Community of Child Photographers. We provide professional portraits to families struck by the tragdey of having a stillborn baby, a baby who is likely to pass away shortly after birth or a child who is terminally ill. The photographers who work for this organisation provide everything free of charge. They go into hospitals and homes with no other motivation than to provide some tiny measure of comfort to families who have been utterly shattered.

As photographers, we have an interest in preserving moments in history that can never be revisited. That’s why we take every last image. Imagine though, that the photos I take of you with your child are the first, the last and the only ones you’ll ever have. No fuzzy snapshots taken with the knowledge that you can get a clearer shot tomorrow. Just a few shots, hopefully clear enough to trace the line of a tiny ear, the curve of a little upturned nose – forever.  Can you really imagine having no more than that – ever? Or worse, not even having that small consolation?

What can you do to make sure I and all the others professional photographers of ACOCP can provide this service? First of all, tell people! Explain it to them the way I have explained it to you. SO many people find the idea of photographing a dying or passed child morbid or garish or even wrong. But I think I have explained how that is simply not the case. So let people know that we are out there and cost nothing for the grieving family. And secondly, if you can, make a donation to the ACOCP to keep it ticking along, reaching out to hospitals, printing out information for the public and running awareness campaigns.

Lastly, I would like to share a photo of a little man who changed lives in just a matter of days. These photos were taken by his mum and hospital staff and enhanced by myself. ACOCP didn’t exist when Zak was born and so fuzzy snapshots are all his parents have to remember and very importantly, share with others. Others will try to figure out how to avoid the tragedies occurring but ACOCP want to continue to be there for the tragedies that couldn’t be stopped. And I will continue to think of this little guy with every sweet bub I photograph in a NICU or maternity ward. Thanks for reading and please – spread the word.