A memorial service was held at Heritage Cemetery in Steinbach Wednesday afternoon for children lost to miscarriage or during early infancy.

Bethesda Hospital Chaplain Larry Hirst says they hold the service every year because it's a day of great importance to a number of people.

"It's an opportunity for them to honour the fact they lost a child, and to mark that loss with a service and a ceremony that honours the life of the child they bore even though that life was very short."

Hirst notes miscarriages can especially be a very difficult experience for families to go through.

"A lot of times we're not good at recognizing that when a women miscarries, she's lost a baby.  So it's a chance for them to come to grips that their loss was the loss of a person."

He adds the service has a steady turnout every year.

"We've had anywhere between 15 and 30 (attendees) come.  Sometimes just a husband and wife, sometimes a wife, and sometimes the whole family will come with a mom, a dad and a couple of kids.  We've had 80 year-old women who came to remember four or five children they lost through miscarriage."

The service dates back many years, and Hirst says there are no intentions to stop holding it.