What Does A Lilac Butterfly In A Baby’s Crib Mean?
Sometimes births don’t have the same happy ending. Therefore, we must give notice to avoid any recklessness of visitors.
The use of the lilac butterfly in neonatal rooms serves to warn that a tragic end has happened in a particular birth. It is frequent for the visits or the patients themselves to give their opinion about the birth that has just taken place.
Above all, it happens that the family goes en masse to meet the baby or babies when it is more than one. Therefore, the little ones are placed in an area where they can be appreciated from the glass.
In the case of twin pregnancies, families are prepared for the arrival of a pair of little angels. So when they go to meet the little ones, they don’t expect them to be separated or to have just one.
The origin of the use of the lilac butterfly
A patient who gave birth on the same day as another tells that the two were going to have twins, yet one of them did not know that the other would have twins too. When the woman with the two babies felt shaken by her situation, she remarked to the other woman how lucky she was to have had only one baby.
Unfortunately, she hadn’t just had a baby, she would also have twins, but one of them was stillborn. Her colleague in the birthing area had hurt her feelings without meaning to. How could I have known that one of the twins hadn’t survived?
So that’s when the idea of identifying the cribs with a lilac butterfly was born. With this mark, people will know that this baby had a little brother who didn’t survive. Sometimes he is stillborn and sometimes he dies in a short time. The truth is that we can be reckless for not knowing the tragic end.
However, as long as the meaning of this brand is unknown, we may continue to make mistakes. In this sense, it is convenient to spread the idea to protect the feelings of affected families.
A new opportunity for Skye
Nature had prepared terrible news for the Smith family, they would have twins, but one of them would not survive. From the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, it was already known how this pregnancy would end. Callie, one of the twins, was more likely to survive than her sister Skye.
Parents considered the possibilities. They could either terminate the pregnancy or stay with her until they could give Skye a chance. But it was a fact that the little one would have no reaction at birth. So they decided that one way to make her live was to donate her organs.
However, this was also a wish that could not be fulfilled. The delivery was brought forward to week 30. In order to donate the organs, I would have to complete week 36. So no donation could be made.
The family knew that one of the twins was going to die. But at birth, she had more life than she apparently did. Skye cried and shook her little arms when she was removed by caesarean. This was once an achievement; because she allowed her parents to get to know her a little and say goodbye to her.
Now, unplanned, the little one is remembered in each lilac butterfly that comes to give the warning of the sad loss. This sign is also used when at least one of the babies has died in multiple births.
How to enhance the lilac butterfly symbol?
In situations that require the use of the lilac butterfly, there is a mixture of feelings, perhaps unwanted. Positive news, the life of a child, the arrival of a baby in the house. The twin who survives deserves to be welcomed with joy. It is a light that shines by itself. But grief at the loss of her brother largely overshadows that coming.
It’s sad, from any point of view, the separation and the bitter ending. However, this baby that lives doesn’t have to suffer like the adults we see around. This particular brand is not for the baby who is alive, it is a reminder of the one who is not.
This little one who survived may be totally healthy and ready to make his family happy. Therefore, the sign must not be negative. That’s it: a warning. It is not convenient to feel sorry for the one who lives, it does not indicate that we should console him or grieve for him, because he does not know what happens.
The lilac butterfly appeared from the pain of a mother who wanted to put a stop to the mentions of pain at her loss. It is equally valid for all mothers in the same situation. She warns family, friends, doctors and the community in general that there is grief in the family.
