October: A Month for Women and Hope

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month
On October 25, 1988, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed that October would be Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month.

• Approximately 1 in 4 pregnancies worldwide will end in miscarriage.  
• Approximately 75% of all miscarriages occur in the first trimester.
• An estimated 19% of the adult population has experienced the death of a child (this includes miscarriages through adult-aged children).
  
  "When a child loses his parent, they are called an orphan. When a spouse loses her or his partner, they are called a widow or widower. When parents lose their child, there isn’t a word to describe them." - Ronald Reagan

Domestic Violence Awareness Month
This year, YWCA Week Without Violence is October 14-20, 2012.

• One in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime.
•  85% of domestic violence victims are women.
• Historically, females have been most often victimized by someone they knew.
• Boys who witness domestic violence are twice as likely to abuse their own partners and children when they become adults.
• 30% to 60% of perpetrators of intimate partner violence also abuse children in the household.

 Breast Cancer Awareness Month