Comforting Baby Loss Quotes
A death is always a sad occasion, but the death of a baby is a tragedy that it’s hard to overstate. Whether it was expected or a sudden shock, it’s the kind of event that can be very hard to process for the people who are left behind.
The grieving process is different for everybody and can take varying forms and varying amounts of time. While no single thing can make the process easier immediately, some people do find that reading some comforting quotes can help them to ease the pain a little.
We’ve collected some of the best ones here, so that you can try to collect your thoughts and begin the healing process. Many of these quotes could also apply to someone who’s suffered a miscarriage, so please feel free to think of them in that light, too.
On My First Son by Ben Jonson
We’re starting this list with something that’s a poem rather than just a quote, but it’s a short one (only 12 lines).
It was written by the English poet Ben Jonson after the death of his 7-year-old son, which was read at his childs funeral, and, like the best poetry, is a beautiful exploration of the poet’s feelings as he deals with this terrible loss. The full text of the poem is below:
Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy;
My sin was too much hope of thee, lov’d boy.
Seven years tho’ wert lent to me, and I thee pay,
Exacted by thy fate, on the just day.
O, could I lose all father now! For why
Will man lament the state he should envy?
To have so soon ‘scap’d world’s and flesh’s rage,
And if no other misery, yet age?
Rest in soft peace, and, ask’d, say, “Here doth lie
Ben Jonson his best piece of poetry.”
For whose sake henceforth all his vows be such,
As what he loves may never like too much.
“Sometimes, the smallest things take up the most space in your heart” – A. A. Milne
Size means nothing when it comes to love. Your baby might have been taken from you when they were still small, but they’ll always be there in your heart and more important than anything else. This quote can remind you that no matter where they may be now, your baby is the most important thing to you.
“We may be separated today, but nothing will change the fact that you made me a mum” – Anon.
Your baby might be gone, but that doesn’t mean that you’re not their mum anymore.
People who lose children usually never stop feeling like parents and it’s important to remember that you still are one. Keeping this in mind can be a spark of light in the darkness of this tragic time.
“Time is a river, a violent current of events, glimpsed once and already carried past us, and another follows and is gone.” – Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius was a Roman Emperor and also a Stoic philosopher. As he pointed out, a terrible event like the loss of a loved one can happen to anybody.
However, this quote is focusing on the fact that once something has happened, it moves past us until it’s quite distant from us in time. It might not feel like it now, but in time, the terrible pain that you’re feeling will get better.
It might not ever heal completely, but all you need to keep in mind now is that the future will be better for you than the present.
“Grief is the price we pay for love” – The Queen
Queen Elizabeth II, that is. She delivered this beautiful quote as part of a message she sent to comfort the families of the British victims of the 9/11 terror attacks in New York. It’s true – the reason that you’re hurting so much right now is love, but it’s also love that will save you.
Your love for your baby will never fade, and it’s what will remain after the pain has dulled. No matter how much you hurt, that eternal love is what makes it worthwhile.
“Ain’t no shame in holding onto grief, as long as you make room for other things too” – Bubbles, The Wire
The Wire is often called one of the greatest TV shows of all time, and none of the characters has as big a heart as Bubbles.
He is crushed by guilt and grief over the death of his friend, but eventually manages to work through it and then comes out with this beautiful quote. It’s a powerful reminder that while things will never go back to normal, that’s okay as long as you don’t let that control your whole future. Whatever pain you’re feeling, there is a life afterwards.
“Babies lost in the womb were never touched by fear. They were never cold, never hungry, never alone, and importantly always knew love.” – Zoe Clark-Coates
A miscarriage is a terrible, traumatic event that is hard to know how to deal with.
Grieving your lost baby is only natural, but it might comfort you to think about the fact that they never suffered in any way while they were alive. All they ever experienced was a warm, safe place where they were loved, and that love will never go away.
“Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few.” – Meghan Markle
It’s powerful and inspiring when someone as well known as Meghan Markle opens up about their own most difficult experiences. She suffered a miscarriage in July 2020 and later said this.
The pain of a miscarriage is terrible, but it might give you some comfort to know that it’s not just you who’s experiencing this tragic event. It might also inspire you to talk about your grief, if you feel comfortable doing so. This is also something that can help you to process your feelings and begin to heal.
“Grief is not a medical condition that can be cured, it is a natural part of life. It is a life experience that cannot be rushed” – Anon.
It can be natural when you feel bad to look for a way to make it stop, but grief isn’t like that. This quote reminds you that grief is a process, rather than a condition. Like any process, it needs to be done properly. It is an unavoidable part of life that you should take your time with.
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you” – Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou decided to pour the untold stories within her into her writing, with beautiful results.
This quote can be a reminder that you don’t have to suffer through this alone, and even telling someone you trust how you feel can start to ease the pain you’re experiencing. Bearing that unexpressed grief inside you will feel worse than letting it out.
“There is no time limit to healing. You take as much time as you need” – S. L. Gray
This is a good reminder to take things at your own pace. There is no reliable roadmap for the way you’re feeling – people can give you general advice, but in the end, it’s all about you and your own personal way of grieving.
Things won’t be the same again, but however long you need to move forward with your life is absolutely fine. This is also a reminder that the grieving process doesn’t necessarily end after the worst of the raw pain has passed. It will probably always be there one way or another, in different forms as you move on through your life.
“No matter how bad your heart is broken, the world doesn’t stop for your grief.” – Faraaz Kazi
Take this quote as a reminder that, even though it might feel like the world has shattered into a million pieces right now, it’s still there and there will always be a place for you there when you’re ready to come back to it. Your grief is important and should be dealt with at your own pace, but it doesn’t have to define you forever.
“Absence is a house so vast that inside you will pass through its walls and hang pictures on the air.” – Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda was one of the greatest poets of the 20th century, and this line of his is a brilliant one about grief. It really captures how enormous and all-consuming your feelings of grief are in a tragic situation like this.
The baby you’ve lost can’t be replaced, even though you wish it could be. “Hanging pictures on the air” can be taken as a beautiful metaphor for remembering them, even though they’re gone and feel bereft.
“Grief fills the room up of my absent child
Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me
Puts on his pretty looks, repeats his words
Remembers me all of his gracious parts.
Stuffs out his vacant garments with his form
Then, have I reason to be fond of grief” – Constance, King John
While Shakepeare was writing his play, King John, his 11-year-old son died. He seems to have put his feelings into the play through the character of Constance, who thinks that her son is dead.
Through her, the bard beautifully expresses that feeling of longing for your loved one to still be alive, but also the thankfulness that you have such strong, powerful memories of them. Though your baby might be gone, the warm memories you have of them will never leave you.
Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost
We finish this list with another poem, this one by Robert Frost. It’s a simple but beautifully expressed meditation on how even the best things leave us.
The inevitability of grief in this life means that there are plenty of other people who are feeling the same way that you do. Hopefully, knowing this can bring you some comfort and might persuade you to share your experience, if you feel comfortable.
The full text of the poem is below:
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Final Thoughts
We’ve now reached the end of our list of comforting baby loss quotes, hopefully, you were able to find some quotes from the list that are helpful to you in coming to terms with the grief you’re feeling at this most difficult time.
It will be a lengthy process with many twists and turns in the road, and it will also be a very personal process. Take all the time and use all the methods that you need to.