8th annual WNC Walk to Remember recognizes pregnancy and infant loss Oct. 15

From Home Grown Babies Child Support Experts:

8th Annual WNC Walk to Remember for October Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month

This event celebrates and raises awareness on the important topic of miscarriage, stillbirth and other early child deaths and will be held Saturday, October 15 at Pack Square Park in Downtown Asheville. The walk will begin at 5 p.m., with naming ceremony to follow.

Approximately 15-20 percent of confirmed pregnancies end in miscarriage each year. There are an estimated 6 million pregnancies in the United States each year, resulting in close to 1,995,840 that end in pregnancy loss. Around the world, October is recognized as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. Throughout the month of October, people pause to honor and remember babies who died in miscarriage, perinatal loss, stillbirth or infant death and support the bereaved families who walk this healing path for a lifetime.

Every year local mothers who are perinatal loss advocates and professional doulas organize this event here in Asheville. When a family experiences the loss of a pregnancy or death of a baby, it invokes a sense of grief that can linger and manifest into doubts and fears about future pregnancies and parenthood. The trauma experienced runs deep throughout every aspect of life. This walk remembers the sweet babies who were gone too soon, the dreams lost and the courageous mothers and fathers as they process their own journey. This annual event gives a voice to an experience that is often silent and painful and supports efforts to spread awareness for ongoing support, healing programs, and therapies available and needed for bereaved families.

“The community of bereaved and their families, work colleagues, pastors, nurses, doctors, counselors and funeral directors are invited to join us at this most profound and special event,” says bereaved mom and Baby Loss advocate, Katherine Hyde-Hensley.

“This walk has become a sacred time for me and my family, to come together with the other bereaved families and community members,” says Sarah Bender Hope. “Each day, I feel a sense of loss since my son passed away three years ago and every day I feel this on a palpable level. The connection I receive from our community at the WNC Walk to Remember has allowed my heart to feel comfort and acknowledgment on a core level. I feel pride and love which provides me energy to keep moving and keep speaking his name, Isaiah Ellington Hope. This keeps him and his spirit alive. What a beautiful gift.”

• What:​ 8th Annual WNC Walk to Remember
• Where: ​Downtown Asheville in Pack Square Park
• When:​ Saturday, October 15, 2016, 5:00 p.m.
• Cost:​ Free
• Contact​: Katherine Hyde-Hensley 828-275-1959; ​ashevilledoula@gmail.com
  • Sarah Bender Hope 828-719-8214; ​sarahenderhope@gmail.com
  • Facebook: ​2016 Walk to Remember