Angel Babies
B-COS We Care about parents who lose a baby.......
When expectant parents are suddenly faced with the death of their baby prior to birth or soon after, the couple finds themselves unprepared to deal with their loss. The chaplains of local hospitals offer a ceremony of commemoration for their little angels so that parents can grieve and say goodbye.
B-COS We Care supplies tiny garments for the funeral ceremony along with a keepsake memory box for their gown and memorial gifts. We provide the mother with a dove pin proclaiming "forever in our hearts"; the father with an angel key chain along with an angel ornament. This box supplies the parents with a tangible remembrance to honor the life lost.
The four local hospitals that B-COS We Care serves will also add the inked footprints of the baby, medical records and various memorabilia items such as prayer cards, bibles or other suitable objects of sympathy for the boxes. All the gowns are handmade by our volunteers. Each one is unique just like each angel baby.
Since the inception of the Angel Babies program in September 2024, until the end of May 2025, a total of 185 handmade gowns have been delivered to St Francis / Penrose Hospitals and to UCHealth Memorial Hospitals Central and North. The hospitals also were supplied with a total of 157 Memory Boxes.
Chaplain Ginger from St Francis Hospital receiving gowns
“When a family experiences the loss of an infant, giving them mementos to honor and remember their little one provides comfort and something tangible for their family to hold on to. No matter how long or short a time these little ones live in utero or after birth, these people have gained and lost a child. A woman and man become parents, aunts and uncles, sisters and brothers, grandparents etc. These tiny ones are loved even before they are fully formed. As members of the medical team who honor these little ones and support their loved ones in their loss, the gift of the boxes you provide are priceless treasures. The dresses are often used to house a bag prepared by the nursing staff that is the exact weight of the child and at times we are able to dress the infant in them.
Your thoughtfulness in remembering a gift of the angel keychain for the dads and the bracelet for mom/siblings is above and beyond. These boxes house precious mementos and are beautiful acknowledgements of a little life gone too soon.
God bless your ministry and thank you for being a part of healing and support for those suffering such a tragic loss."
From Chaplain Ginger Johnson from St Francis / Penrose Hospitals
Chaplain Ruth from Memorial Hospital receiving gowns
“We just recently had two different families devastated in one week by a fetal loss.
For one family, this was their first loss but as it followed a long fertility process, it was so painful. This family thought they would finally be parents. I shared words with them and listened, but it was not until they could see their baby in one of the angel baby gowns that they could let the tears fall and be comfortable holding their little one for the first time. Before that, it was all so medical they shared, but seeing her dressed so sweetly opened the floodgates of grief that allowed them to hold and then name their little one.
For another patient, this was her fourth loss in just a couple of years. She thought since she made it to 16 weeks, she might make it "all the way" and bring her baby home. When the precious remembrance box was shared with her, she specifically said that she was glad to have this box as a tangible way to remember what seemed like just a dream.
We use these items all too often in a week, but they give reality and the gift of possible ways to cope with grief to our families.
Thank you, Chaplain Julie
Julie Britsch, MDiv, BCC
Chaplain (she, they)
Memorial Hospital
Spiritual Care
1400 E Boulder Street
Colorado Springs, CO 80909
Office: 719.365.8803
julie.britsch@uchealth.org