Prayers for Pregnancy & Infant Loss

Father, in the name of Jesus I come to you with a broken heart because of the loss of my baby. I know that your ears are open to my prayers. I am hurting and restless and feel overwhelmed. Please rescue me out of this pit of hopelessness and fear. You know the tears that I cry and my sleepless nights. Father, I give you all my hurts, worries, and cares. I thank you that you are not finished with me yet. I will chose not to be held down by a spirit of discouragement and grief. By your grace I will stand firm and trust you. Help me to remember that others are going through the same pain as me, help me to get strong, so that with the same comfort that you comfort me with, I will be able to comfort others.

By Patty Larsen

God, We remember all babies who have died as a result of miscarriage. We remember all mothers and fathers whose hearts are aching and arms empty, who never had a chance to love or hold their babies. We ask God’s healing to fill the void and emptiness that has been left. Amen.

by Jane Parkinson

Dear God,
People ask me how I am coping.
I’ve learned to smile in company.
I’ve learned to appear calm and even relaxed.
But this is not the real me.
It is a person that I watch going through the motions of living.
Inside, I’m still screaming, or else I’m just numb.
Sometimes the ache is so strong that my whole body is racked with pain.
The pain and the questions are often bound up together.
Why did I have to miscarry (again)?
The questions chase around inside my mind.
I feel there ought to be answers.
I feel I am owed some explanations.
Yet no explanations come, and there seems to be nowhere to go to find any.
You alone know the reasons for our loss.
Help me to accept your mysterious ways and your divine plan for me, which may differ from my human hopes and dreams.
Help us to understand that at the very heart of the universe there is not despair but hope, not evil but a God of love.
Amen.

by Jane Parkinson

My Lord, the baby is dead!

Why, my Lord—dare I ask why? It will not hear the whisper of the wind or see the beauty of its parents’ face—it will not see the beauty of Your creation or the flame of a sunrise. Why, my Lord?

“Why, My child—do you ask ‘why’? Well, I will tell you why.

You see, the child lives. Instead of the wind he hears the sound of angels singing before My throne. Instead of the beauty that passes he sees everlasting Beauty—he sees My face. He was created and lived a short time so the image of his parents imprinted on his face may stand before Me as their personal intercessor. He knows secrets of heaven unknown to men on earth. He laughs with a special joy that only the innocent possess. My ways are not the ways of man. I create for My Kingdom and each creature fills a place in that Kingdom that could not be filled by another. He was created for My joy and his parents’ merits. He has never seen pain or sin. He has never felt hunger or pain. I breathed a soul into a seed, made it grow and called it forth.”

I am humbled before you, my Lord, for questioning Your wisdom, goodness, and love. I speak as a fool—forgive me. I acknowledge Your sovereign rights over life and death. I thank You for the life that began for so short a time to enjoy so long an Eternity.

by Mother M. Angelica

My life is upside down, loving God.  The order of the world is out of place and I can’t do anything to right it again.  Oh, Lord, you know the pain in my heart at all times and you know why: my child has died.  How can it be that my beloved child is gone?  The child I cared for with such concern in every illness, the one I held close to my heart and promised to take care of for a lifetime, is not here for me to care for anymore. It hurts deeply that I wasn’t able to protect this child I love with my whole being from a death that seems so unfair.

Let me feel calm.  Let me breathe deeply.  Be with me in this kind of deep and transformative pain.  I now carry this darkness with me on my back and in my heart, always.  It is my burden and my companion.

Lord, there is not a single minute of my life when this loss is not etched so keenly into my brain and heart, whether it is in the middle of a busy day or in those choking moments of grief in the solitary dark of night.  Let me be grateful for every minute we had together. Let me treasure those memories and find joy in them.

Help me to deal with people better.  They don’t know what to say. They stumble and look away when they see me.  They pretend nothing has happened.   I know they “don’t want to remind me” but they don’t understand it is with me always, always.

Teach me, Lord. Tell me what you want me to do with this.  What am I supposed to learn from this kind of pain?  What are you calling me to do?

Open my battered heart and lead me to comfort and peace.  Only you can give me the peace I need. Let me feel your presence in my life.

By Creighton University

Humble Virgin and Doctor of the Church, in thirty-three years you achieved great perfection and became the counselor of Popes.

You know the temptations of mothers today as well as the dangers that await unborn infants.

Intercede for me that I may avoid miscarriage and bring forth a healthy baby who will become a true child of God. Also pray for all mothers, that they may not resort to abortion but help bring a new life into the world. Amen.

O Saint Catherine of Siena, God our Father enkindled the flame of holy love in your heart as you meditated on the Passion of Jesus His Son. Moved by His grace, you devoted your life to the poor and the sick, as well as to the peace and unity of the Church. Through your intercession, may we also come to know the love of Jesus, bring His compassion to all, and work for the unity of His Church.

We ask this in Jesus' Name and for His sake. Amen.

God, You caused St. Catherine to shine with Divine love in the contemplation of the Lord's Passion and in the service of Your Church. By her help, grant that Your people, associated in the mystery of Christ, may ever exult in the revelation of His glory.

Amen.

Dear St. Catherine, patron of those who have suffered a miscarriage, you know the dangers that await unborn infants. Please intercede for me that I may receive healing from the loss I have suffered. My soul has been deprived of peace and I have forgotten what true happiness is. As I mourn the loss of my child, I place myself in the hands of God and ask for strength to accept His will in all things, for consolation in my grief, and for peace in my sorrow. Glorious St. Catherine, hear my prayers and ask that God, in good time, grant me a healthy baby who will become a true child of God. Amen.

From NCR by Kelly Marcum

These prayers invoke the faith, trust, and sorrow of the biblical Hannah as she poured out her heart to God.