Woman creates memorials to stillborn infants

Associated Press

OREGON, Ohio

Patty Krncevic looked to bring lasting, widespread good after the loss of her stillborn daughter.

She found the library in the Toledo suburb of Oregon.

A 3D printer sits near the front desk. Patrons have used it to build school projects, guitar picks and name keychains.

But for Krncevic of Toledo the device was instrumental in creating Footsteps 4 Little Angels. Her organization collects stories from grieving families – families that have suffered the pain of a stillbirth – and shares a small frame memorial in honor of them.

Krncevic learned March 20 that her own daughter, Cecilia Angelina, affectionately called CeCe, did not register a heartbeat. CeCe was delivered the following day.

“No one expects, plans for, or prepares themselves for child loss,” she said.

The ensuing pain was unimaginable for Krncevic. It also meant a sense of feeling apart, she said.

“What I struggled with most is being among society, among my community, among my neighbors, and feeling like I was the one with some kind of problem,” Krncevic said. “They didn’t isolate me, but I felt that way in my mind. Because they had no idea the intensity of the pain that I have to carry.”

A stillbirth results when a baby dies in the womb after 20 weeks of pregnancy, according to the March of Dimes. The group says stillbirth affects about 1 percent of pregnancies nationally, or roughly 24,000 babies annually.