Perinatal Loss Program

    As the President of Best Wishes Specialty marketing, I was reviewing sales records from out giftindex.com and giftindex.net websites. I noticed that one hospital was purchasing a large quantity of one particular stock number once or twice a year for several years. Curiosity got the best of me, so I wrote to them to find out why anyone would need so many brass butterfly pins. I knew it has something to do with the grief process of mothers or expectant mothers or something like that, but I did not understand what was really going on. I had also mentioned the purchases to other clients and co-workers, and was at a loss to fully explain the program.
     So, I wrote to both Pam Lesser Clinical Nurse Manager Labor & Delivery as well as Suzanne Reilly Women’s Resource Coordinator at Barnes-Jewish Hospital to learn a bit more. They were so kind as to reply with the very touching letter which is below. I had no idea that so many woman at one hospital could be in so much grief for losing a child. In fact, I was flabbergasted at the quantity they were going through. It was nearly 500 per year or so. 
    I can remember what I was thinking back when they asked for the quote for their first purchase of these brass butterfly pins. When we sell them for $1.29 each, we make a decent profit, except for the fact that they come in cartons of 24 and the cost of shipping them out one at a time is exorbitant. Even when they are discounted and sold two dozen at a time for $1.04 each, we do pretty well, but nothing to brag about. I almost quoted them at the same price that I charge my dealers when they purchase a gross (144) at a time which is roughly 90 cents each. But after praying about it and sweating about it, I came up with a special price quote "just for them" because they were doing something noble. I thought OK, I will do this once, just to get their business, they will want other things (I thought they were going to have them in their gift shop or something too and might need other things for the gift shop). In fact, I have never sent them a catalog or even mentioned their gift shop, which is very unlike the profit driven side of me. 
    The price I quoted for 504 was $299.99 plus shipping which works out to about  59.5 cents per butterfly pin. They asked only for 500, but 504 is exactly 21 cases of 24, so I was not going to open a case up and take out 4, plus it is possible that not every pin would be perfect. I guess that was more than satisfactory, because they have repurchased several times since then and I think that has been 5 or 6 years.
    But, curiosity Still had gotten the best of me, so I sent my request for more information. Pam and Suzanne were so very kind to respond back to me with the following note about their Perinatal Loss Program and the memory box that they prepare for each mother. I think you may find the letter as touching and heart warming as I did. As the father of 4 healthy and happy young ones from ages 11 down through 4, I can only Imagine the grief felt from losing just one. In fact, that almost did happen to our first born. She was born with no surfactant in her lungs, and was rushed to the neonatal care center at Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis just in time. All they could tell us after the ambulance ride was "well, she arrived at the hospital still alive". That was the most excruciating 11 days of my life.
    Perhaps that was what led me to quote the pins at the price I did. I don't ever want to go through that feeling again, and if I can help anyone who actually has lost a child to get over the grief even one day sooner, than that is my goal. Anyway, I ramble, which is not me, but here is their letter.

James L Wells, President, Best Wishes Specialty Marketing

Note: Click here to learn more about these butterfly pins.

    After reading the above letter, I went on the web and researched the perinatal loss program search title and found that many hospitals have a similar program. In fact, it seems that many programs center around the same theme, The butterfly. Some hospitals just have regular services 2, 3, or 4 times a year whether the women gather together. Some give gift baskets as above, others just pass out a butterfly pin to each mother. Many are somewhere in between. It now sounds perfectly natural for such a program to exist. I now am also often surprised to find that some hospitals have no program like this at all. Perhaps the program idea never occurred to them, or the cost was seen as too expensive. I think the whole program could be put together at a minimal cost of perhaps $2.00 per mother on a minimal bases. That is a butterfly pin at less than a dollar each, and the price of printing a program or two. It is possible staff members  might even agree to volunteer their time to hold such services if that was needed if the budget did not allow otherwise. 
    It was kind of Pam and Suzanne to volunteer to share their thoughts with others. I am sure they would be glad to provide additional thoughts which might help guide those wishing to start or modify a similar program.
    I have provided a link to our giftindex.net website page which tells just a bit more of the brass butterfly pins themselves, but I know that the pins are just a tiny part of the program. I am just proud to be involved.
    If you have questions, please check out the site, or email me at jim@giftindex.com and I will be glad to be of assistance. 
    If you feel that reading this has wasted your time, I am truly sorry, but if I have helped in any way, then I feel blessed.

Thanks for your attention,

James L Wells, President, Best Wishes Specialty Marketing

P.S. if you wish to share this with others, please feel free to forward it.
 
But, as a service, I have saved a copy of this letter on our website located at 

http://www.giftindex.com/perinatal_loss_program.htm

Forwarding this link may be much quicker than sending this letter with the photos especially if someone has a slow internet connection.
My intention is also to include links to other perinatal loss programs at hospitals across the country. If you have such as program and would like to have us link to your program, I will be happy to make that happen. Just send me the url of the website location. All I ask is that you place the above link as a  reciprocal link somewhere on your web site page where appropriate.

Thanks, Jim