Common symbols for miscarriage and pregnancy loss include the butterfly (especially for early loss), the pink and blue ribbon, a heart, a rainbow (for rainbow babies born after loss), and various personalized symbols like feathers or footprints, representing grief, remembrance, and hope.
Some parents choose “explicit” tattoos, like footprints with wings and the child's name or date of loss. Others choose more subtle references, like the flower baby's breath, the miscarriage and pregnancy loss awareness ribbon, a tiny heart, or a miscarriage quote tattoo.
Here are some simple and heartfelt miscarriage support phrases you can offer:
Forget-Me-Not Flower Bracelet: Forget-me-not is the Alaska State Flower. Forget me not, the flower of miscarriage.
Many parents commemorate their lost babies with pillows, tattoos, ornaments, or blankets featuring angels.
International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day
The official awareness colors of the cause are pink and blue and are used for the campaign's awareness ribbon.
20 meaningful miscarriage tattoo ideas and designs
Buy something special in memory of your baby, such as a keepsake available in our online shop (a heart decoration, bracelets or keyring) or a piece of jewellery (a selection of jewellery here also supports the Miscarriage Association). Write a letter or poem for your baby and perhaps keep it in a memory box.
A woman who is less than 20 weeks pregnant and may be suffering a miscarriage is taken to a private room. Her doorway is marked with a blue butterfly—a universal symbol of early pregnancy loss. It alerts staff to the loss and grief people are experiencing inside the room.
Even though you lost your child during pregnancy or soon after, you are still a parent. Take care of yourself.
Practical Miscarriage Gift Ideas
Healing gifts: Think: a heating pad to combat cramps, a water bottle to encourage hydration, or a nourishing tea. Or for those who were further along: traditional postpartum recovery care items.
Whether they occur early (between the 14th and 22nd week of pregnancy) or late (from the 22nd week of amenorrhea), they raise a lot of concerns. Among them: the fear of infertility. However, did you know that it is precisely after a miscarriage that your chances of conceiving are the best? Yes, it's surprising!
A rainbow baby is one that is born after a miscarriage or stillbirth. It's perceived to be a symbol of hope and joy following a dark, stormy time…. just like a rainbow after a storm. The appearance of a rainbow doesn't necessarily mean the storm is over.
“After doing some work around grief and miscarriage, I thought it would assist women if we offered them a keepsake to remember their lost pregnancy and help them to move forward. The butterfly is the universal symbol of pregnancy loss,” Angie Wilson, Antenatal and Gynaecology Ward Midwifery Unit Manager, said.
The most common sign of miscarriage is vaginal bleeding.
This can vary from light spotting or brownish discharge to heavy bleeding and bright-red blood or clots. The bleeding may come and go over several days.
A rainbow baby is a baby born after miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, termination for medical reasons, stillbirth or neonatal death. The rainbow symbol has been used by members of the baby loss community for many years.
The 🦋 (blue butterfly) emoji is a positive symbol that often represents beauty, happiness, and personal growth. Sometimes, it also symbolizes nervousness, like the phrase “butterflies in your stomach.” It may be used this way when talking to a crush or about an exciting but intimidating opportunity.
Type of flowers: White orchids, daisies and other white blooms mixed with greens are common flowers people send to someone who miscarried. Meanings: Each flower carries its own meaning — for example, white roses mean purity and white orchids mean continual love.
Choose a significant symbol, inscribe names/initials, get a locket to keep something from that time eg. ultrasound pic or ashes. Find a photograph of the sunrise on the day you lost your baby, or name a star after your baby. Hold a fundraiser or donate to a charity in honour of your baby.
Miscarriage Gifts
It's common to feel tired, lose your appetite and have difficulty sleeping after a miscarriage. You may also feel a sense of guilt, shock, sadness and anger – sometimes at a partner, or at friends or family members who have had successful pregnancies. Different people grieve in different ways.
Things not to say
“Don't worry, you're young. You can always have another baby.” “It wasn't meant to be.” “It was probably for the best.”
A three dots tattoo often means "Mi Vida Loca" (my crazy life) symbolizing a rebellious or resilient lifestyle, especially in Hispanic communities and prison culture, but can also represent religious concepts like the Holy Trinity, or life stages (past, present, future/life, death, reincarnation) depending on the dots' orientation (triangle vs. line). Its meaning is highly contextual, ranging from gang association to spiritual belief or personal journey, notes Removery, Corrections1, and Quora.
444 tattoo symbolizes angelic guidance and support from Archangels Chamuel and Jophiel. Represents determination, hard work, love, and embracing change in life. Choose from various designs like 444 on the chest, wrist, with angel wings, or infinity symbol.
A "2%" tattoo often symbolizes affiliation with the Three Percenters (III%) movement, representing a belief in armed resistance against perceived government overreach, but it can also be misconstrued or linked to extremist ideologies, with some associating it with the infamous SS blood group tattoos for identification, though the original intent is political and militia-based.