Our daughter, Alana Marie Banerjee, was stillborn unexpectedly on October 4th, 2013 (two days before her due date) after an otherwise normal, happy, and uneventful pregnancy.  Doctors attribute her death to a likely cord accident, but we never got a definitive answer.  Alana was a much beloved and anticipated first child, grandchild, niece, and cousin, and our family misses her deeply.  (Read Alana's full story here.)

With better education about prevention strategies and more advanced detection technology, we can prevent this kind of needless tragedy from happening to other families.  Alana was perfectly healthy and strong, and being that she was full term for weeks before she died, there is no reason why she should not be here today.  One in 160 American pregnancies end in stillbirth - that's 26,000 per year (71 per day!), and 10 times as many deaths as SIDS.  And yet, very few people realize that this is happening or are doing anything to stop it.  This is completely unacceptable.

We've teamed up with the incredible Star Legacy Foundation (Samantha is Vice Chairperson of the NY Metro Chapter) in hopes of driving more awareness, research, and education (both among medical professionals and expectant mothers) to save the lives of tens of thousands of babies like Alana every year.  Thank you for your support!