On April 30, 2007, Regina Binz, a parishioner at Our Lady of the Holy Souls Church in Little Rock, went through one of the most painful experiences a mother can have: she gave birth to a stillborn son, Ryan.
At 17 weeks gestation, the baby was seven inches long and weighed only three ounces. The nurses brought him to her to hold a couple of times, sometimes in garments that dwarfed his tiny body.
“They had some gowns that were smaller,” Binz said. “But (at that age) the skin is still opaque, the garments become soiled, and they quickly ran out.”
As Binz grieved for her son, she realized she wanted to do something for other families suffering a late miscarriage or stillbirth.
“I know the painful, lonely feeling of giving birth to a baby that is lifeless,” Binz said. “I want to do what I can to give comfort to a mother who is in the same situation.”
In early October 2007, around Ryan’s due date, Binz met with her mother’s club, the Dry Fork Extension Homemakers in Carroll County, to begin designing garments for other infants like Ryan.
Almost immediately, Binz knew the design would have to be special.
“I realized the gowns they were making were too big,” Binz said. “It’s taken a while to make (the garment’s design) usable.”
To develop the design Binz talked with a perinatal bereavement support group at St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center in Little Rock and nurses at University of Arkan sas for Medical Sciences Medical Center, where she delivered.
She started with a kimono-style first, but the body of an infant born so early in development can be too fragile for sleeves, so then went to a tunic-style garment, she said.
Once she had developed the design, Binz, a full-time clinical specialist at UAMS, realized the scope of her project.
“I think this is something bigger than me and a few ladies,” she said.
In late May 2008 Binz turned to Laura Humphries, parish life and stewardship coordinator at Our Lady of the Holy Souls Church.
“She was so compassionate — she instantly adopted me,” Binz said. “She said, ’I’m going to talk to some people, but we’re going to make this work.’ She knew more people, got the word out, then people wanted to help.”
“To me, it was just a natural fit” for the parish to get involved, Humphries said. “Especially when someone is really interested in doing it. Regina is very dedicated.”
The parish provides space for meetings and workdays, and the group received a small budget from the church. However, parishioners have also donated money, so the group hasn’t used the church’s money yet, Humphries said.
Parishioner Mary Sue Whitelaw asked a graphic designer friend, Mike Puckett, to create a logo for the new Holy Sews ministry. It features two needles forming a cross, with the motto, “Mending Hearts One Stitch at a Time.” Binz uses this logo on the letters she sends out to hospitals.
Each of the ministry’s layettes includes a tunic, cap, fleece blanket, bunting or smaller blanket, and a tiny teddy bear that the group buys from craft stores. Each layette is placed in a keepsake box with a verse written by Amy Forbus, a friend of Binz.
“Given in loving memory of
children loved and lost,
Carried to heaven before
we could know them,
But ever known and loved
as precious children of God.”
“(The verse) gave me a lot of comfort,” Binz said.
Another goal of the ministry is to have each set blessed before it’s given to a hospital. Before Binz took samples to several hospitals in northwest Arkansas, Msgr. Royce Thomas, pastor at Holy Souls, said a “very moving, impromptu” blessing over them in the church’s Eucharistic chapel, she said.
“We can’t skip that step — it wouldn’t be right,” she said. “(Msgr. Thomas) had next to no warning, but what he said was inspired and beautiful, perfect.”
On Nov. 28 and 29, Binz delivered these sets to six hospitals in northwest Arkansas and Conway Regional Medical Center.
“We needed smaller gowns. (Binz) came up with just exactly what we needed,” said Joan Dick, a registered nurse and the SHARE program coordinator for pregnancy and infant loss support at Mercy Medical Center in Rogers. Her program has used three of the sets so far.
“For parents, it’s very, very comforting to them to have a memory box,” Dick said.
“(Dick) likes the tunic design,” Binz said. “It seems to make a difficult situation easier for the nurses. It’s easier to get the baby dressed, it’s a good size. She is just thrilled.”
The ministry held its first official workday Dec. 14 in the church’s parish hall. A group of 10 women gathered, and in a few hours they were able to finish 15 fleece blankets and five buntings and cut out 40 fleece blankets, 20 buntings and 20 tunics.
Some come because they enjoy sewing. Others come because they want to support the ministry.
“I’m blessed with two healthy children, I had two easy pregnancies, and I thought not everybody has that,” said parishioner Crystal Aucoin. “I thought I needed to come help, even though I don’t sew. It’s kind of a learning experience.”
Because the first workday was successful, the group has decided to do one monthly on each second Sunday. In addition to working on the layettes, the afternoon included refreshments and fellowship.
“People who sew tend to enjoy being around each other,” Binz said. “It was just a really good experience.”
The ministry has become a family project for Binz. In addition to her mother’s help, her husband Kevin takes photographs of the ministry’s work. Her father has built a rocking horse to raffle and raise money for the cause. Even her 7-year-old daughter, Torrie, accompanies Binz to workdays and now has her own sewing machine.
“Torrie has been so good. She was really sad when she lost her baby brother (she was 5 at the time),” Binz said. “She’s come to terms with it, and she wants to help. And she just wants to be with me and spend time together. It has been a big part of her life since then.”
Binz is hoping her contact with hospital personnel will help predict how many sets the hospitals will use.
The National Institutes of Health defines a pregnancy loss before 20 weeks a miscarriage and a loss after 20 weeks a stillbirth. According to its statistics for the United States, stillbirths occur in approximately one in 200 pregnancies, and almost 15 percent of pregnancies end in miscarriage.
So far Binz has given more than 40 sets to hospitals, 18 made by the Holy Sews ministry and the others made by Binz, her mother’s group, and involved friends.
This year Binz plans to contact UAMS, St. Vincent and Baptist Medical Center “now that I have the organization.” She would like the hospitals to have sets on hand and request more as they need them.
“I would love to help everybody,” she said. “It’s based on how many volunteers we get.”
In addition to the workdays, the ministry continues to have monthly planning meetings for shaping this “work in progress.”
“I am absolutely going where I’m led,” Binz said. “I can’t make a plan because there is already a plan I don’t know about.”
