Unspoken Grief: Pregnancy & Infant Loss in BIPOC Communities

Kyi Sterling, MA, Resident in Counseling
Oct 27
3 min read

Updated: 4 days ago

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, and this topic deserves more space, especially in communities of color. Miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS, and infant loss impact families everywhere, but BIPOC parents often face higher risks and heavier silence around their grief.

Understanding the Loss

Pregnancy and infant loss can take many forms. Each experience carries its own emotional, physical, and cultural complexities. Understanding these differences helps us approach loss with greater compassion and awareness.

Miscarriage: The loss of a pregnancy before or around 20 weeks. This is the most common type of pregnancy loss, though it is often hidden due to stigma or lack of public conversation.
Stillbirth: The loss of a baby at or after around 20–24 weeks of pregnancy. Stillbirths are devastating for families who have often spent months preparing to welcome their child.
Infant or Neonatal Loss: When a baby passes away after birth, typically within the first month or first year of life. These losses may occur due to complications during delivery, medical conditions, or other unforeseen circumstances.
SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome): The sudden and unexplained death of an otherwise healthy baby, often during sleep. Though research continues, the cause of SIDS remains uncertain, leaving families with profound grief and unanswered questions.

Each of these experiences represents not just the loss of a child, but the loss of dreams, hopes, and a future imagined. Recognizing the many forms of pregnancy and infant loss is an essential step toward breaking the silence—and building a culture of understanding, especially within communities that have historically and continue to be overlooked.

The Disparities

Black and Indigenous families in the U.S. experience pregnancy and infant loss at significantly higher rates. These disparities are not explained by income or education—they persist across socioeconomic lines.

For example, Black mothers are about twice as likely to experience stillbirth and face maternal mortality rates more than double those of white women. Indigenous women also experience disproportionate rates of pregnancy complications, infant loss, and barriers to care.

Why the Risks Are Higher

The reasons for the increased risks reflect much more than numbers - they are layered and systemic. Here are just a few of the contributing factors:

Bias and racism in healthcare: Implicit bias and systemic racism often lead to disparities in treatment, diagnosis, and pain management.
Being dismissed or not believed when reporting symptoms: Many Black and Indigenous mothers report that their symptoms are minimized or ignored, even when they voice serious concerns.
Chronic stress from racism: The daily burden of navigating racism and discrimination has measurable effects on physical health, including pregnancy outcomes.
Limited access to quality prenatal and postpartum care: Structural barriers—such as lack of nearby providers, insurance challenges, or transportation—make consistent, quality care harder to access.
Cultural silence or stigma around loss: In some communities, pregnancy and infant loss are rarely discussed, leaving families to grieve in isolation without adequate emotional or cultural support.

These layers of systemic harm create a cycle of risk and silence that too often leaves BIPOC families unseen and unsupported in their grief.

The Grief Experience

For many BIPOC parents, grief comes with extra weight. Medical trauma, cultural expectations to “stay strong,” or pressure to be silent about the loss. But every loss is real, and every parent deserves space to mourn without judgment.

What Support Can Look Like

Healing is possible when support is culturally safe and community centered. That can include:

Faith & cultural community gatherings: Churches, mosques, tribal gatherings, and community centers can provide safe spaces for naming ceremonies, ritual remembrance, communal mourning.
Peer support groups led by & for BIPOC parents: Support groups where parents share and connect with those who understand both loss and cultural/racial context.
Honoring traditions: Some communities may choose specific rituals such as planting a tree for the baby, lighting a candle annually, writing the baby’s name, creating memory art or incorporating ancestral healing practices.

Pregnancy and infant loss touch every community, but for BIPOC families, it’s often compounded by systemic inequities and silence. Bringing these stories to light is an act of healing and resistance. Every story shared, every name spoken, helps ensure that no parent grieves alone and that every life—no matter how brief—is honored.