Lake County proclaims October 2025 Pregnancy and Early Infant Loss Awareness Month

The Lake County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 12 adopted a proclamation designating October 2025 as Pregnancy and Early Infant Loss Awareness Month in Lake County. Supervisor Pyska introduced the proclamation and invited representatives from Motherwise to speak about remembrance and community support events.

The proclamation notes that pregnancy and early infant loss is common: it cites estimates that one in four pregnancies in the United States ends in miscarriage, about one in 175 pregnancies ends in stillbirth, and roughly five infants per 1,000 die before their first birthday. It encourages residents to learn about prevention and to support bereaved families.

"This is always a hard one for me but it's really important," Supervisor Pyska said, describing her personal experience: "My first daughter was stillborn. She died during delivery on her due date and that was 17 years ago, my daughter Lila." Pyska said she began marking the month publicly in her first year as supervisor to build community recognition and support.

A Motherwise representative said the organization will host a free community remembrance at 6 p.m. at a ranch in Lakeport and described the October 15 Wave of Light ceremony, during which people worldwide light candles at the same time to remember babies lost in pregnancy or infancy. "It's a beautiful event," the speaker said, and thanked the board for supporting the proclamation.

The board signed and passed the proclamation as read; the transcript records the item number on the agenda as 6.692 and shows the Chair signing the proclamation. No roll-call vote or vote tally was recorded in the transcript.

There were no public comments recorded during this agenda item. Meeting staff invited attendees to join for a photograph following the proclamation.