Child Loss Memorial Page
The University of Michigan Health extends our heartfelt condolences to the families who have experienced the unimaginable loss of a child. We recognize the immense pain that accompanies perinatal loss and honor the profound impact that each unique life holds. To acknowledge this, and to support those grieving, U-M Health annually conducts memorial ceremonies, offering a space for remembrance and reflection. These ceremonies serve to remember and honor loved pregnancies and precious babies who, though not physically with us, have left indelible marks on the hearts of their families and our community. These ceremonies are a place where families can come together in shared remembrance and find comfort in the knowledge that they are not alone in their grief.
A Walk to Remember & Tree Planting
For more than 20 years, families and U-M Health care team members, in partnership with Nichols Arboretum, have met on a Saturday each October to acknowledge the significance of perinatal loss and remember loved pregnancies and precious babies who are not physically with us.
From the beginning of time, families have experienced perinatal loss, but it wasn’t until the 1980’s that our society began recognizing the need for supportive care in grieving pregnancy and newborn death. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan declared October to be “National Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month,” calling for communities to come together for support and recognition of these significant losses.
The A Walk to Remember 2025 tree is a Magnolia Tripetala, commonly known as the Umbrella Tree. It has large leaves, very large flowers, and a broad, open crown of spreading branches, resembling an umbrella. The creamy white flowers bloom in spring, shortly after the leaves emerge.
The tree can be found alongside most of the previous years’ tribute trees in the Magnolia Glen area of the Arb. The 2002 – 2006 tribute trees are located in the Main Valley Maples area of the Arb. View the Tribute Tree Map.
Learn more and register for the 2025 Walk to Remember and Tree Planting Memorial.
Leaves
Part of the A Walk to Remember tradition includes an opportunity for participants to place a brief message on a paper leaf which is carried to the tree planting site and left in a basket. Leaves from every year are saved and archived in a scrapbook.
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