NCH hosts 2017 Walk to Remember

Northwest Community Healthcare (NCH) is hosting a memorial and walk around the hospital campus Sunday, October 1 at 2 p.m. to honor and remember all babies lost through miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, stillbirth and newborn death. Anyone grieving the loss of a baby is invited to attend.

The walk is presented by Northwest Community Healthcare’s (NCH) Renew through Sharing program which supports families grieving the loss of a baby. Shauna and Steve Loftus and their entire family walked last year to honor their stillborn son Declan. “The walk was a way to honor Declan and keep his memory alive,” Shauna said.

The Loftus family was joined by about 50 other families at last year’s event, which featured an environmentally-friendly bubble celebration instead of the traditional balloon release done in previous years.

“It was a beautiful thing to be surrounded by bubbles,” said the program’s organizer Jill Kottmeier, R.N., CPLC, NCH Perinatal Palliative Care Coordinator. “It was a magical activity that parents don’t get to do with their babies so it means a lot.”

The day will begin with a memorial service in the hospital auditorium, followed by a walk around the NCH campus and a gathering at the Renew through Sharing Memorial Garden, 800 W. Central Road, Arlington Heights.

To learn more about NCH’s Renew through Sharing program, contact Jill at 847-618-8415, or jkottmeier@nch.org.

Did you know: According to national estimates, between 15 and 20 percent of all pregnancies in the U.S. end in miscarriage, defined as the loss of a fetus before the 20th week of pregnancy. Stillbirths – loss of pregnancy after the 20th week, affects about 1 percent of all pregnancies. Each year about 24,000 babies are stillborn in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.