- Breast-milk jewelry, made from mixing milk with resin, has grown in popularity.
- Many people use the jewelry to acknowledge a past pregnancy loss.
- Alex Mooney wears a ring daily to acknowledge her stillborn son.
Alex Mooney was 19 weeks pregnant when she learned that her fourth child — a boy whom she would name Clark — had many developmental issues. Just three weeks later, Clark's heart stopped beating at 22 weeks of gestation, and Mooney delivered him stillborn.
After Clark's birth and death, Mooney's milk came in quickly and plentifully. She decided to pump and donate the milk that Clark didn't need. After donating more than 1,000 ounces of Clark's milk, Mooney set aside a few ounces for herself, to have breast-milk jewelry made.
Jewelry made from breast milk has become popular with nursing parents in recent years as a memento to remember the breastfeeding journey. The jewelry is made from mixing a small amount of breast milk with resin and fashioning it into earrings, necklaces, or rings.
For bereaved parents like Mooney, these pieces are especially meaningful. She wears a ring made with breast milk beneath her wedding bands. "It is a constant little hello from our sweet Clark," Mooney told Insider.
Love, loss, and jewelry
Anna Thachuk is an ultrasound technician and the founder of KeepsakeMom Breastmilk Jewelry. Thachuk, who operates her business in British Columbia and in Washington state, was familiar with just how common miscarriage is from her day job and because she had five miscarriages among her three children. She realized early after discovering breast-milk jewelry that it could be used as a tool for healing.
One day, Thachuk was preparing milk in her kitchen when she opened an envelope. It contained the milk needed for jewelry and a heartfelt note from a mother saying that the piece Thachuk was making would be the only physical memento she had of her child who died.
"That was the first time I felt I'm doing something important here for people," Thachuk said. "It's not just jewelry."
Thachuk's jewelry can incorporate hair, handprints, and other physical representations of a child, she said.
Mooney — who is now a mom to four living children and Clark — said that the jewelry made with Clark's milk is particularly meaningful to her.
"I do have a few other pieces I had made with my other kiddos' milk, but I get to look at their actual selves every single day," she said. "I don't get to do that with Clark. So that makes his milk jewelry even more special."
Remembering miscarriage and the fertility journey
Thachuk said bereaved parents are a small segment of the clients reaching out to her. What's more common is for parents to incorporate acknowledgments of miscarriages that came before the child they were able to nurse.
"When they remember their breastfeeding journey with a child that is alive, they mention also the miscarriage," she said.
Tiffany Blackburn of North Carolina ordered breast-milk jewelry while tandem-nursing her two children. She incorporated each child's birth flower, and a forget-me-not acknowledging two babies she had lost to miscarriage.
"I just want to always honor their memory as we move forward," she said. "We had two babies before we met either of our two earthside, and they're always going to be a part of our family."
Opening a conversation and creating memories
Loss can be difficult to talk about, despite the fact that about 10 to 20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage. Wearing jewelry can be a way to open conversation about loss, Mooney said.
"I am very open about our story and sharing about Clark and always will share with others about my ring and what it's made out of and what it means to me when it gets brought up," she said.
Although it can be incredibly difficult while navigating loss, Mooney urges other families facing stillbirth or infant loss to make memories.
"Take the photos. Get the keepsakes made. These are the things you'll be able to keep forever, to keep your baby's memory alive," she said. "You will be so grateful that you have them to look back on, no matter how hard it may be in the moment to do them."