Dear Family and Friends,
Together we can make a difference! Each year 26,000 babies are born still in the United States. On January 25, 2013 one of those babies was our dear grandson Oliver Cohlan Hughes.
Parent Magazine recently wrote, " New research on stillbirths highlights the so-called "silent problem" that continues to grow globally, even here in the U.S. There is a common misperception that many of the deaths are inevitable, but our research shows most stillbirths are preventable," says Professor Joy Lawn from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. "We already know which existing interventions save lives. These babies should not be born in silence, their parents should not be grieving in silence, and the international community must break the silence as they have done for maternal and child deaths. The message is loud and clear—shockingly slow progress on stillbirths is unacceptable."
Until we had Oliver we had no idea. Since Oliver was born still we have learned a lot. One of the things we have learned is that we need more awareness and research to lower this alarming incidence of stillbirth. We also have learned that Star Legacy Foundation is leading the way in supporting research. Once we spoke about Oliver we learned about so many other families that had experienced stillbirth or knew someone who did. We can not be silent about stillbirth.
Star Legacy Foundation and the New York Metro Chapter offer many amazing programs including, free brochures for families and health professionals, now both in English and Spanish, always expaning partnerships with area hospitals, including Northern Westchester Hospital, Mt Sinai, NYU Winthrop Hospital, North Shore Hospital, free online support groups, including grief support groups for parents, support groups for grandparents, pregnancy after a loss, and parenting after a loss, and the Star Legacy Stillbirth Summitt where researchers from around the world present and share the latest stillbirth research. Rick, Tyler, Hilary and I attended the summit along with several of our area nurses.
In the four years since we started our chapter here in the NY Metro area, many other states have joined us in forming chapters, including Alabama, California ( Los Angeles and San Diego), Massechuctes, Michaigan, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin with more being organized including Florida, Colorado, Maryland, Illinois, Upstate New York, North Carolina and Maryland. Many of these programs are the direct result of your past support of the Let's Not Be Still 5K. Rick and I along with Hilary and Tyler attended the Star Legacy Foundation Stillbirth Summit this past June in Minneapolis where we heard from researchers around the world on the latest of research. All this and more would not be possible without to your support!
Together we can make a difference. Please join Team Oliver, form your own team, register as an individual or support Team Oliver with a generous donation. No donation is too small (or too big!) And if your employer provides matching grants please see the tab at the top for more information.
Thank you,
Bobbie
TEAM OLIVER
For more information about Star Legacy Foundation please visit the website at www.starlegacyfoundation.org
and join our chapter facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/NYMetroStarLegacyFoundation/