Appropriately, during Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month, too!
For years now, I've been jealous to hear about loss mom friends in other provinces/American states/countries who have been able to obtain a government certificate of stillbirth -- official or otherwise -- to honour the brief existence of their baby.
So I was very happy to see this article in the Toronto Star today! (Hopefully not behind a paywall... if so, saving to the Pocket app/site and opening it there often works!) Those of us who have lost babies to stillbirth in Ontario, as far back as 1944, can now apply to Service Ontario for a commemorative certificate, at no charge. It notes that "British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba also offer commemorative documents for stillbirths, but Ontario is the only province to end fees for stillbirth registrations."
I have a little certificate that the nurses gave us at the hospital, with Katie's tiny hand & footprints on it -- but something from the government seems so much more "official," if you know what I mean, even if it's only ceremonial. I just submitted an application online! :)
Here's a link to the Service Ontario website with information about the certificate and how to apply.
(I suppose I could have made this my #MicroblogMondays post, but I was so excited, I couldn't wait to share!)
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