The Unexpected Project Announces First Ever Survivors Forum
SAN JOSE, Calif., March 28, 2014-- The Unexpected Project, a national movement to raise awareness and foster discussion about maternal death and near-death in the U.S., announces its Survivors Forum, a first-of-its-kind gathering of survivors, families, and friends of pregnancy-related death and near-miss in the United States. The Forum will take place Wednesday, April 30, 2014, at the Sobrato Center for Nonprofits, adjacent to Valley Medical Center in San Jose, California. The conference is sponsored in part by the Lucina Maternity Foundation, whose mission is to reduce preventable maternal and infant deaths and injuries by improving the delivery of maternal health care.
Every year, approximately 58,000 women and their families survive a harrowing brush with death during or in the weeks following their pregnancy. Every day, two to three women are not so lucky. Because these deaths and near-misses are rare, families and friends often do not have information and support from people who really understand: the people who've been there.
The Unexpected Project’s Survivors Forum hopes to change that. By bringing together survivors and families of pregnancy-related death and near-miss, we can ease the burden and provide families with the critical support and information they need during a difficult time. Speakers will include survivors as well as medical professionals and mental health experts with experience in dealing with this very sensitive topic.
To learn more about the Unexpected Project’s Survivor’s Forum, including the day’s program and where to register, please visit www.unexpectedconference.org. A limited number of scholarships are available for survivors or family members who wish to attend but cannot due to financial hardship. Please see www.unexpectedconference.org for more information.
About the Unexpected Project: Founded by Anne Addison and Jenn Carney, two writers who had suffered their own near-miss experiences, the Unexpected Project was created to produce a documentary that raises awareness of, and, by extension, reduces preventable maternal illness and death in the U.S. Those who wish to tell their stories on camera during the Survivors Forum will have the opportunity to do so, although doing so is entirely voluntary.
About the Lucina Maternity Foundation: The Lucina Maternity Foundation was launched in 2011 to change the landscape of maternity care in the U.S. by developing an integrated model of care that both improves maternal outcomes and reduces costs. Its successful pilot project in Cupertino, California, demonstrated positive outcomes and financial viability in just six months, and its collaborative care model is currently being replicated at Valley Medical Center in San Jose, California, one of the largest county hospitals in the country.
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