KELLY TOWNSHIP -- Welcoming a baby into the world is usually a very happy experience, but sadly some parents never get to take their newborns home from the hospital.
A group in central Pennsylvania hopes to make the tragedy of losing a baby a little easier.
The little outfits are hand-sewn to fit newborn babies. They are made from donated wedding gowns by the group Heaven's Helpers of Central PA.
But they are not just any gowns. They were donated to Evangelical Community Hospital near Lewisburg as dressing gowns for babies who never get to come home from the hospital.
"We want to just show that the gown is the love that a bride takes the time to pick it out. You can wrap your baby in that and feel secure as you say goodbye," Dawn McConnell said.
McConnell is the founder of Heaven's Helpers of Central PA. She says she got the idea from a similar program in Texas. Her group of seamstresses makes what they refer to as angel gowns. She used her own wedding dress for inspiration.
"I wanted to do something more with it. I felt like it needed to go to the next step, go on a journey, and this is how I could do it," McConnell said.
Evangelical Community Hospital has an infant loss program to support parents and accepted the donation of 12 dresses.
"We'll be able to use these gowns for families as they leave the hospital and prepare for services for their infant," Susan Payne said.
Dawn says Heaven's Helpers of Central PA currently has plenty of wedding gowns, but they do need more seamstresses to make more of these little outfits.
"We'd love to have more hospitals join in. We're just very pleased that [Evangelical Community Hospital] has allowed us to do this," McConnell said.
If you would like to become involved with Heaven's Helpers of Central PA, you can check out their Facebook page.