20+ Sympathy Gift Ideas to Comfort Someone Coping With Pregnancy Loss

When someone you love suffers from a pregnancy loss, it can be challenging to know exactly how to meet the moment. But in the absence of a magic wand that can take away your loved one’s pain, a thoughtful gesture—like a sympathy gift—can be a tangible way to show them that you care, you’re thinking about them, and they have your unconditional support. Here are a few ways to help console someone coping with pregnancy loss.

Comforting Sympathy Gift Ideas

Comfort is the name of the game when a loved one is recovering from loss. Think of these as a hug in gift form:

• Favourite treats: Ice cream, fresh fruit, a home-cooked lasagna…pinpoint your pal’s go-to comfort eats and bring it over.
• Something cozy: Soft socks or slippers, a comfy blanket, or silky eye mask can provide physical comfort during this time.
• Pampering gifts: Treat your friend to TLC with a bath soak or salts, luxury lotions, a scented candle, or a gift card to the local spa. 
• Tea or coffee and a mug or travel cup: A warm gesture that doubles a literal pick-me-up. A gift card to a beloved café works here, too.

Symbolic Sympathy Gift Ideas

Pay tribute to your loved one’s loss with a memorial gift, such as:

• Memorial jewelry: For parents who already had a name picked out, an initial necklace or bracelet could be a lovely token of remembrance. Or consider birthstone jewelry that symbolises their expected delivery date. 
• Journal: Give your loved one somewhere to jot down their thoughts as they move through the grieving process. You could pick out an open-ended blank notebook (perhaps embossed with the recipient’s initials) or opt for a guided journal with prompts.
• Plants, seeds, or potted flowers: While a bouquet of flowers may provide an immediate boost, for some, watching their blooms wilt away as time passes can be a little depressing. Instead, a potted plant (such as an easy-to-care-for succulent) or seeds might be a more uplifting sympathy gift, as they better symbolise hope and growth.

Practical Sympathy Gift Ideas

Though they can’t always be tied up with a pretty bow, practical sympathy gifts might be just what your loved one needs. 

• Meal gift cards, frozen meal, or meal kit: Grief can get in the way of self-nourishment. So, give your friend the gift of at least one meal they don’t have to think about.
• Healing gifts: Think: a heating pad to combat cramps, a water bottle to encourage hydration, or a nourishing tea. Or for those who were further along: traditional postpartum recovery care items.
• A helping hand: What can you take off your grieving friend’s plate so they can better care for themself during this tough time? Can you show up with dinner or coffee? Provide childcare? Help with nursery school pickup or drop-off? Walk the dog? However you can think to show up, do it! And pro tip: Instead of asking “how can I help,” which puts the onus on your friend, make a concrete offer (“What time can I bring dinner?” “I’m going to the cafe, should I pick up a latte or a macchiato for you?”).

Sympathy Care Boxes

Rather than compiling your own pregnancy loss sympathy gift basket, you could turn to one of these curated care packages: 

• Bodily: Bodily offers a miscarriage box (which includes a helpful book, guide for supporters, and remembrance bracelet, in addition to their recovery latte mix) as well as a stillbirth box, which includes care items for those who suffered a second or third trimester loss.
• Laurel Box: Featuring many handmade gifts and products from independent artisans, these sympathy boxes offer comfort for not only pregnancy loss, but also infertility, child loss, friend and family loss, difficult seasons, and pet loss.
• Held in Hope: Founded by a woman who felt unsupported after her own loss, Held in Hope is a non-profit that also works with obstetricians, midwives, care centers, and emergency departments to distribute their pregnancy loss kits. 
• Good Grief: Offering an array of boxes to support recipients through so many of life’s challenges (ranging from job loss to divorce to cancer to infertility), their pregnancy loss boxes provide a mix of comfort, pampering, and words of wisdom—all artfully arranged. 
• Solace and Sage: These highly curated sympathy boxes give gift-givers a variety of options. 
• Due to Joy: A Christian-based company that offers curated packages for parents who have experienced loss.

Non-Material Sympathy Gifts

And of course, the best gifts in difficult times are often not things that can be neatly packaged and ships. Consider one (or more) of these priceless gestures instead of a traditional pregnancy loss sympathy gift:

• Heartfelt condolences: When facing weighty issues, there can be the temptation to not say or do anything at all for fear that your words or gesture are inadequate. But simply acknowledging your loved one’s loss can provide important validation and comfort. Even if it’s just via text, let them know that you’re sorry for their loss.
• A listening ear: Even if you don’t know what to say, you can give your loved one the gift of your undivided attention.
• Your company: Or, your friend may not feel like talking. But perhaps they would appreciate re-watching Gilmore Girls by your side.
• A thoughtful check-in: In the immediate aftermath of a loss, there’s often a swell of support, but that can fade as weeks and months pass. For someone coping with pregnancy loss, that grief may flare up again around their expected due date. Reaching out to your friend again around that time to let them know you’re still thinking of them can go a long way to make them feel supported.

More Resources:

• How to Support Someone Through a Miscarriage
• Celebrities Who Have Opened Up About Pregnancy Loss
• Mental Health Resources for Parents

Disclaimer: The information on our site is NOT medical advice for any specific person or condition. It is only meant as general information. If you have any medical questions and concerns about your child or yourself, please contact your health provider. Breastmilk is the best source of nutrition for babies. It is important that, in preparation for and during breastfeeding, mothers eat a healthy, balanced diet. Combined breast- and bottle-feeding in the first weeks of life may reduce the supply of a mother's breastmilk and reversing the decision not to breastfeed is difficult. If you do decide to use infant formula, you should follow instructions carefully.