On the Mamie’s Poppy Plates website, Sarah Bussey Adams describes how the loss of her first baby inspired her to start the nonprofit organization.
“I am Sarah, Mamie’s mom. She was my first child born — a sleeping angel (stillborn) — two weeks before her due date. Sadly, my devastating experience is far from uncommon — each year 1 in 160 babies delivered is stillborn. And 19,000 newborns die within 28 days after they are born,” Adams says on the website.
“My loss and the losses suffered every day by others inspired me to start Mamie’s Poppy Plates, which provides a keepsake for parents who are not able to take their babies home from the hospital. We, parents, cherish the hand and footprints of our children, whether they are in Heaven or on Earth. I wanted to find a beautiful way to preserve such a precious reminder of our babies.” Adams and her sister, Britney Spees, introduced Mamie’s Poppy Plates via Facebook and a website debut on June 25, 2010, on what would have been Mamie’s first birthday.
In the almost 11 years since the launch, the organization has made thousands of plates — the exact number is unknown because numbers were not tracked in its early years.
“Just for an example, last year we did just shy of 1,500 plates. This year, we’ve already done over 500,” Spees says.
Adams was about two weeks from her due date when she went in for a regular checkup and the baby did not have a heartbeat. By then, she already had a car seat in her vehicle and the nursery was ready in her home.
“It was like a nightmare. I almost felt like I had an out-of-body experience. It really wasn’t talked about very much about having a stillborn baby. Once I got past that 12-week mark, I thought everything would be great. Thinking of losing my child — I never thought that would happen to me.” She shared the news with friends on Facebook, posting a slide show of photos a friend took of Mamie.
“But when I finally got out and about, seeing people in the grocery store or other places, they would almost cringe when they saw me because they didn’t know what to say,” Adams says.
“I ran into a couple of people who didn’t know and I would have to explain that she didn’t make it but I think social media was very helpful for me at that moment in time.” Mamie was named after Adams’ great aunt.
“My mom always talked about her Aunt Mamie and how fun she was and how great she was and I just loved that name and wanted to carry it on.” Adams had made ornaments featuring the footprints of her nieces and nephews. When she got home from the hospital, she found the ornament reserved for Mamie and regretted not having her daughter’s footprints.
“My wheels started spinning and I thought, ‘What if we could do this for all of the parents that lose a baby at the hospital [where] they [are] delivered?’ … I was sitting in her nursery when it just hit me in the head,” Adams says.
The organization partners with almost 80 hospitals in 18 states. When a parent loses a baby, the parent is given a packet explaining the program and offering the plate, free of charge. Extended family members and friends can buy plates on the organization’s website.
“It seems like something so little that it is not going to mean that much,” Adams says of the plates. “But for a parent who has lost a child, it is something tangible. You get to see your child’s footprints or handprints on a plate.” After she lost Mamie, Adams says she longed for a plate honoring her daughter.
“So many people after they have had a child have their handprints or footprints put on a plate and do all of this fun stuff,” Adams says. “This is something that we are giving back to these families that they wouldn’t be able to do any other way.” Donations cover the $50 expense of making each plate. Many of those donations are from the families who lost a child.
“Also grandparents and really just anyone who has been touched by a loss,” Spees says. “We are very grassroots in our fundraising but we do have support as well from businesses and other places around the community.” The sisters have other children. Adams’ son Burke is about to turn 10 and daughter Winnie is 8. Sprees has two boys — Silas, 13, and Abe, 10. The sisters are often mistaken for twins, but are actually 3 ½ years apart. When asked if they are close friends, both say “yes” in unison.
When Adams approached her sister about the idea for the plates, Spees immediately embraced it.
“It was like a hole was being filled up when she shared the idea with me,” Spees says. “This is exactly what I wanted to do.”
More information about Mamie’s Poppy Plates can be found at mamiespoppyplates.com .