The birth of a child is a joyous time for an expecting couple, but according to the National Institute of Child Health and Development, 1 in 200 pregnancies result in a stillbirth. One Staten Island couple experienced such a loss and, as NY1's Mara Montalbano reports, they want to prevent it from happening to others.

Lori and Jeff Tieger of New Springville say they had always wanted to be parents and got the news they were hoping for last June. The parents-to-be spent the next nine months preparing for their baby's arrival.

Lori Tieger says after 39 weeks of an uneventful pregnancy, she was surprised one day when she did not feel her baby moving.

“The doctor had said Îgo to the hospital, just to get checked out’ and I was so excited,” said Tieger. “We pulled out the video camera. Maybe this was the last time that we're going to be admitted. Never in a million years thinking that they would find that they found.”

Or, rather, they could have never imagined what the doctors couldn’t find. Lori says her doctor broke the news that the baby had no heartbeat. She still had to give birth to the baby and 36 hours after inducing labor, the Tiegers got to hold their son, Daniel Ian -- who had never taken a breath.

“That was my first experience, my first feeling as a father,” said Jeff Tieger. “After Daniel was born and the first time that I held him was the single saddest moment of my life and it just shouldn't have been that way.”

The Tiegers say doctors couldn't explain why the stillbirth occurred. In fact, less than half of all stillbirths can be explained, according to the National Institute of Child Health and Development.

While the couple mourned their son, they say they needed to do something to bring awareness to this mostly silent problem.

“There's next to no funding toward research into possible causes and warning signs,” said Mr. Tieger. “And, right now, Lori and I have been back and forth to Albany lobbying for the Missing Angels bill.”

The Missing Angels bill has already been passed in 19 states, providing parents with a birth certificate for their stillborn child.

The Tiegers also set up the Daniel's STAR, a foundation to raise money for research and awareness for stillbirths.

Despite their loss, the Tiegers say they are looking forward to fulfilling their dreams of becoming parents.

“Daniel will always be our first child,” said Lori Tieger. “He will always be spoken about. He'll always be remembered. But yes, we -- God willing -- will have more children and they will know about their big brother.”

-Mara Montalbano

For more information on the Daniel Ian Tieger Fund for Stillbirth Awareness and Research call 1-877-622-STAR or go to www.DanielsSTAR.org.