Coming to DC? Here are the deets on #BigPUSH2022
Updated: Nov 4, 2022
We are SO EXCITED to gather with you all in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, October, 15th for The Big PUSH to End Preventable Stillbirth!
If you're joining us on the National Mall, here's all the info you need:
Jump to...
...Live Stream/Recording
...Event Maps
...Schedule
...FAQs
Live Stream
Yes! The FULL EVENT will be livestreamed and recorded! Check it out on YouTube at tinyurl.com/bigpushlive:
Video not working? Head directly to YouTube: https://youtu.be/BUewsZ7SkA8
Full speaker schedule can be found below. Also don't miss our Live Coverage on social media on 10/15! Follow @pushpregnancy
Note: during the Celebration of Life, livestream audio may be silenced by YouTube due to music streaming rights issues. But no worries - you can celebrate from anywhere with the #BigPUSH2022 Playlist on Spotify! Check it out here: tinyurl.com/bigpushplaylist
Event Maps
Download a printable version of the full Event Map here (PDF).
Main Event Stage on the National Mall is located at 7th St. NW/SW between Madison Dr. NW & Jefferson Dr. SW. Best navigation address is 7 7th St NW, Washington, DC 20001. Public Transit is recommended as parking is limited - Directions in FAQs below
Schedule
---Friday October 14th (Pre-Event)---
8:30 PM - Welcome Meet & Greet! The Big PUSH Coalition will be hanging out in the bar at Cantina Bambina at the Wharf (960 Wharf St SW, Washington, DC 20024) - swing by to say hello!
---Saturday October 15th (Main Event)---
Full Schedule below takes place at the Main Event Stage at The National Mall (7th St. NW/SW between Independence Ave. SW & Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20560) - Directions in FAQs below
11:00 AM - Coalition Org Meetings (Open to the Public!) Join us a little early on the Mall for small-group gatherings with the organizers of the event to meet other families learn more about their missions. The following orgs are hosting pre-event meetings for all current (and future!) volunteers:
12:00 PM - Awareness Fair & Interactive Art Installation - Details below! Enjoy live music from Dixie Danielle while you take in a powerful interactive art installation (featuring 23,000 baby hats, one for each child born still in the past year) by local DC Artist Ashley Jaye Williams and peruse tables presented by the 50+ organizations behind The Big PUSH. Lots of free goodies and kid-friendly activities!
1:00 PM - The Big PUSH Rally - Head over to the Main Stage to see our incredible lineup of speakers!
1:00 PM - Welcome & Opening Keynote
Marjorie Vail (PUSH for Empowered Pregnancy, Former Mrs. New York American) & Liz O'Donnell (Aaliyah in Action, PUSH)
Keynote by Shawnee Benton Gibson (ARIAH Foundation, Aftershock Documentary)
Poetry reading by Marny Smith (PUSH for Empowered Pregnancy)
1:20 PM - A Call to Action for the U.S. Medical Community
Dr. Harvey Kliman (Yale Placental Research Scientist, PUSH Board) & Dr. Heather Florescue (1st OB in the U.S. to implement int'l stillbirth prevention protocols, PUSH Board)
Keynote by Dr. Joanne Stone (President of SMFM, Chair of Mount Sinai OBGYN, NYC Rainbow Clinic Founder)
1:30 PM - Voices of the Family
"The Intimate Link Between Stillbirth & Maternal Mortality" Laneceya Russ (Executive Director of March for Moms)
Song & poetry by Dixie Danielle
"A Father's Perspective" by Cristian Ortiz (PUSH for Empowered Pregnancy)
1:50 PM - The Political is Personal
Debbie Haine Vijayvergiya (2 Degrees Foundation, SHINE for Autumn Act)
Amanda Duffy & Heather Johnston Welliver (Healthy Birth Day/Count the Kicks, Title V Stillbirth Prevention Act of 2022)
Ana Vick (PUSH for Empowered Pregnancy, @StillMySon, Sacred Birth Circle) & Allie Felker (PUSH for Empowered Pregnancy, @AllieFelker)
2:00 PM - The Big PUSH March - Grab those empty strollers! It's time to march them past Congress to call for an end to preventable stillbirth!
Name Reading Ceremony - During the March, Domenique Rice (PUSH for Empowered Pregnancy, @StillbirthMamaFightingForLight) will take the main stage to lead the reading of hundreds of names of beloved babies born still.
3:00 PM - Closing Keynote - Samantha Durante Banerjee (Executive Director of PUSH for Empowered Pregnancy) closes out our speakers with a rousing call-to-action for what comes next in the fight to #endpreventablestillbirth
Heads up! This segment will end with a cathartic group scream (read: it's going to get loud!). An announcement will be made in advance.
3:15 PM - Celebration of Life - A live performance from empowering female drum artists Batalá will lead us into uplifting DJ music to celebrate the impact our stillborn babies' lives are making. Because every stillborn baby #StillCounts
The Big PUSH organizers like to work hard, play hard, AND love hard. So come join us in front of the stage for dancing, brainstorming/strategizing, and lots of hugs! #UnitedWePush
4:00 PM - Event Close - A final farewell from our organizers. But don't worry, because the changemaking is just getting started!
---Saturday October 15th (Post-Event)---
7:00 PM - International Wave of Light for World Pregnancy & Infant Loss Remembrance Day - Wherever you are, pause at 7:00 pm to light a candle for all babies born still and all others gone too soon due to any cause during pregnancy or infancy.
Join families around the world in sharing your candle with the International Stillbirth Alliance's Virtual Wave of Light! Post a photo of your candle at 7 pm local time and tag their Instagram account (@stillbirthalliance) and/or Facebook page!
---Sunday October 16th (Post-Event)---
11:00 AM - Farewell Brunch! Before you head home, join the Big PUSH Coalition for an informal, outdoor brunch to celebrate our big day at District Square at the Wharf (1 District Square SW, Washington, DC 20024)
Grab whatever you want to eat from one of the nearby takeout spots and join us at the outdoor tables!
Awareness Fair
Join us from 12-1 PM for the Awareness Fair & Interactive Art Installation. (Note: the Art Installation and many, but not all, of the Awareness Tables will remain open through the close of the event at 4 PM)
Live Music onstage by Dixie Danielle
Interactive Art Installation featuring 23,000 baby hats - one for each child born still in the past year - by local DC Artist Ashley Jaye Williams. Honor the baby you're missing by tucking a note with their name into one of the hats. This powerful art piece is debuting at The Big PUSH and will tour the country in coming months to illustrate the terrible toll of preventable stillbirth in the U.S.
Awareness Tables presented by many of the 50+ organizations behind The Big PUSH. Swing by to meet the courageous volunteers & activists leading the movement to improve maternal/infant health outcomes in the U.S. Expect lots of free goodies to take home and kid-friendly activities!
PUSH for Empowered Pregnancy & #StillCounts - Come meet the parents behind the biggest, loudest stillbirth awareness & prevention movement in history! Lots of empowered pregnancy info, our legendary PUSH pens, and more - free! We're on a mission to end preventable stillbirth, and we're NOT taking no for an answer.
The PUSH table also doubles as the general Information Table for the event!
Measure the Placenta - Come learn everything you ever wanted to know about the Placenta - especially why it's so important for prenatal care to begin incorporating #EPV (Estimated Placental Volume) into standard practice.
Measure the Placenta is hosting a pre-event meet-up for all current (and future!) volunteers - meet at 11 am at the MTP table!
Surviving Siblings (KIDS TABLE!) - Meet Brittany & Eliza Day, mother/daughter authors of I'm STILL A Big Sister, and enjoy lots of (free!) fun goodies for little ones, including bubbles, stickers, flameless tealights, temporary tattoos, face painting, and coloring!
Aaliyah in Action - Aaliyah in Action provides women, birthing people and families who have experienced perinatal or neonatal loss with self-care packages and bereavement supports to help navigate life after loss. Come check out the curated collection of self-care items in each box and learn how to make this resource available at your hospital!
ARIAH Foundation - The AR