Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep is an American charitable organization operating worldwide, described as "a volunteer network dedicated to photographing dead and dying infants", which "provides free professional portraits to families suffering a stillbirth or early infant loss." Grieving families receive "heirloom photos" at "no charge".
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Organizational history
Founded in 2005 in Colorado by photographer Sandy Puc' and parents Cheryl and Mike Haggard whose baby died as an infant, the organization is now active in all 50 states, plus 40 other countries, such as Irelandand Canada.
The group has 3000 volunteer photographers around the world and has provided services to more than 30,000 families. The group is headquartered in Centennial, Colorado.
Cultural context
In the late 19th century, post-mortem photography was popular and culturally accepted, though it fell out of style early the next century. This cultural shift was accompanied by a rejection of emotional bonding with stillborn babies, and infants who had died. One journalist observed "In years past, stillbirths and other perinatal deaths were swept under the carpet. Mothers did not see their children, and were urged not to dwell on them or their deaths."
Change in attitudes began in the 1970s and 1980s, and "the medical and psychological thinking about stillbirth began to evolve when researchers started studying the impact of a baby’s death and parents began telling their stories. From silence and detachment came acknowledgment and remembrance."
Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep is part of this increased concern for the emotional needs of grieving parents. Describing their photos, one mother wrote "They are not gruesome, they are not offensive, they are not graphic, nor are they violent". She went on to say "They are real life, in all its beauty and agony."