In communities around Australia caring and dedicated women are using their sewing skills to convert wedding dresses into tiny burial gowns for stillborn babies and those who die in their first few weeks of life.
The volunteers belong to not-for-profit organisation Angel Gowns Australia, which was formed 10 years ago, and has since made countless numbers of the lovingly crafted gowns for donation to grieving families.
Angel Gowns Australia has 360 members in city suburbs and rural and regional towns. The skilled seamstresses sew the tiny gowns with love and respect before they are carefully packed and delivered to more than 170 hospitals and funeral homes to be given to a family facing an unimaginable loss.
The gift of an angel gown
The organisation's mission is to "gift an Angel Gown garment to every baby or child when they have passed away, so families have one memorable moment of peace and beauty as they dress their baby before they say goodbye for the very last time".
Some of the volunteers have themselves suffered a loss of a baby or know someone who has. Others are people with spare time and compassionate hearts.
National secretary Christine McKenna said the program touched many people, from those who donated the wedding dresses and those who deconstructed them, to those who sewed the gowns and those people in hospitals and funeral homes who gave the gowns to the grieving parents.
The wedding dresses are donated and posted to Angel Gowns Australia but a grieving mother sometimes asks that a gown be specially made from their own wedding dress.
Statistics show that nationally one baby passes every four hours, and two more will pass before they are 21 days old.
Taboo
Not long ago, to speak of the loss of an infant was almost a taboo subject, but Angel Gowns Australia says it recognizes the importance of "Breaking the Silence" that surrounds the loss on an infant.
Recently South Australian members of Angel Gowns Australia met together to celebrate the organisation's 10th anniversary. In South Australia, around 400 gowns a year, are gifted to families or placed in hospitals and funeral homes.
Angel Gowns Australia tries to make use of all of the generously donated weddings gowns - even the tulle is sewn into little tutus for children with special needs.
Angel Gowns Australia is planning an appeal for more wedding dresses later in the year.
Eileen Wood
I'm a senior news journalist at The Senior newspaper, the leading publication bringing targeted news on issues affecting older Australians. We cover NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, SA and WA. If you have a story idea I would love to hear it. You can email me: eileen.wood@thesenior.com.au or phone The Senior 02-4355-5000, mob. 0487 495 805
I'm a senior news journalist at The Senior newspaper, the leading publication bringing targeted news on issues affecting older Australians. We cover NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, SA and WA. If you have a story idea I would love to hear it. You can email me: eileen.wood@thesenior.com.au or phone The Senior 02-4355-5000, mob. 0487 495 805
