Ashley Rose Salvitti lost her 29-week-old daughter, Lena, to a stillbirth in 2018.

The Salem resident had to return home from the hospital to an empty nursery. Amid her profound grief, she felt unsupported and unsure of how to move forward. 

Her experience inspired her to found Doula Synergy this year, an organization focused on supporting grieving parents through the unexpected loss of their unborn children. 

“My experiences on the parenthood journey, through pregnancy, birth, loss (and) postpartum helped me to see and recognize a need for additional support for families experiencing loss, as well as people who are pregnant again after loss,” she said. 

Salvitti is in a support group with parents who have been through similar losses. The group, Pregnancy & Infant Loss Grief Circles meets once a month at Salem Health.

On Thursday, the group will gather at the Union Street Railroad Bridge at 9 p.m. after their meeting for a vigil in honor of their losses. Doula Synergy is hosting the vigil, and welcomes community members to participate. 

The bridge will be lit with teal and purple on Thursday and Friday in recognition of National Stillbirth Prevention and Awareness Day on Sept. 19th – which was established in 2022 with support from U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon.

Merkley also sponsored a 2024 bipartisan law to allow federal funds to be put towards stillbirth prevention.  

With studies showing 25% of stillbirths are preventable, Salvitti believes Lena’s death could have been prevented if she had more information about how to track her baby’s movements. 

She hopes the vigil will also help raise awareness for stillbirth prevention. 

After meeting at the bridge, attendees will walk to Riverfront Park to view the lights from afar. There, people can share stories, their babies’ names  or simply join in remembrance.

“The whole purpose is to honor and center our hearts, and bring community together because often this topic is not talked about, and so (we’re) just creating a space where people can feel like they’re less alone,” Salvitti said. 

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the founding year of Doula Synergy and misidentified it as a nonprofit. Salem Reporter apologizes for the error.

Have a news tip? Contact reporter Hailey Cook: [email protected] or (208) 515-4097.

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