To mark the end of Baby Loss Awareness Week women, men and children released balloons with messages to their lost babies at Rosebank Chapel on 9th Ave.
Stillbirth And Newborn Death Support (SANDS) national board committee member and Bay of Plenty co-ordinator Denise Coy said ending the week with a memorial service yesterday was to raise awareness of the issue and to remember the babies who had died.
"When you lose a child it's forever in your heart, and forever in your mind. The week is just to signify coming together worldwide."
"There are over 600 still births a year. That's not from miscarriages, it's from 20-weeks-old and over. It gets swept under the rug and our babies matter.
"To me, my daughter matters as much as my sons I have on Earth."