If you would like to offer a donation to BNA Ministry, Charlotte, please send to:
Be Not Afraid
St. Mark Catholic Church
14740 Stumptown Rd
Huntersville, NC 28078

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Be Not Afraid - Charlotte (BNA) is a network of concerned parents and professionals who have experienced or worked closely with issues surrounding a variety of prenatal diagnoses. Serving western North Carolina (including the cities of Greensboro, Charlotte and Asheville), we offer a free service of practical guidance and compassionate care.

If you have been given an adverse prenatal diagnosis, you are not alone. There is help for parents carrying to term.

Contact BNA Charlotte:

• Sandy Buck, Ministry Coordinator: 704.948.4587, benotafraidnc@live.com
• Tracy Winsor, Outreach Coordinator: 704.543.4780

BNA Charlotte assists with a variety of resources and services for parents, including but not limited to, referrals to community-based services and support groups, assistance writing birth plans, birth support, and infant funeral planning, when needed.

Additionally, in a proactive effort to increase awareness and assist in the development of local community services and outreach to parents after prenatal diagnoses, BNA Charlotte provides speakers and training. Please consult our calendar for more information about upcoming events. Contact Tracy Winsor at 704.543.4780 if you are interested in bringing this program to your area.

BNA was co-founded in 2008 by Sandy Buck and Tracy Winsor. Sandy's experience with a prenatal diagnosis began years earlier when her son (Casey) was diagnosed with T-18 prenatally.

"I was committed to carrying to term, BUT I didn't know anyone else who had experienced a poor prenatal diagnosis. I didn't know how to tell people and so my husband and I struggled alone with Casey's prognosis during the pregnancy," shares Buck, "My purpose in developing this service was to BE the support I wish I had found when I was carrying to term."

Winsor, a perinatal loss peer counselor, joined Buck in the effort having encountered parents in perinatal loss ministry who had also not found support around the experience of an adverse prenatal diagnosis and/or carrying to term.

"We knew we could make a difference for parents by rallying resources and creating a community of support," she adds, "To expectant parents we offer unique insight and sensitivity regarding such difficult issues as mourning the loss of the anticipated baby, maintaining hope when a prognosis is poor, medical decision-making during pregnancy and beyond, stillbirth and neonatal critical care."

BNA Charlotte in the News

Our ad appeared in the Washington Post on March 21st, World Down Syndrome Day

99 Minutes - A Life, A Legacy, a featured 4-part series in Charlotte Observer

 

Lisa, mother of Hailey Grace

"My daughter Hailey Grace was diagnosed with Trisomy 13 and holoprosencephaly. I was told that she was incompatible with life and one doctor even called her a "throw away baby." I was totally heartbroken and felt so alone. I was put onto a path that would test my faith and my love for God.  At my lowest point with no hope being offered, God heard my cry for help and answered my prayer. He gave me Tracy Winsor of Be Not Afraid Ministry. A woman who did not know me saved me. I was yelling at God and asking why this was happening to me and that is how he answered me. She knew exactly where I was on this journey and she understood. What a void she was able to fill." Lisa mom of Hailey Grace

 

Karen, Genetic Counselor

"Genetic counselors are frequently the providers that break the initial news to parents about their baby.  It’s not easy for parents to hear this "news" -  it is a life-altering and critical time and they feel all the weight of the world upon their shoulders.  I always consider the time I spend with them a true privilege. Every story is different, but each one deeply moves me, especially when I am allowed to enter into their lives.  In them I see that that unconditional love only a mother and a father can have for their baby despite knowing their baby has serious birth defects, some of them life threatening. We cannot do this alone. Be Not Afraid Ministry has been an instrumental resource because they bring a higher level of care and support to these families. I feel  truly indebted to them." Karen,  genetic counselor at MUSC

 

Kip, Skylar’s Dad

"BNA is what got us through when we were at our darkest lowest point...no...BNA kept us from falling into that point. They were there even when we were too weak to support one another; trying to find our own ways to cope. BNA helped by not turning us away from the truth of what was happening but instead showing it to us and going there with us. I don’t have the words to express my gratitude for what they did for us. They were by our side when we had no one else. I don’t know if we would have made it through without their help. We did have support from some family and friends but we still felt like we had to support them as well. With BNA, it was the only time we could stop being strong and succumb to our emotions without fear. They were running in while so many others were running out." Kip, Skylar’s Dad

If the prenatal diagnosis is Down syndrome, there are some things you should remember:

 

~Your baby isn’t changed by this diagnosis. The existence of a prenatal diagnosis often changes the perspective of a baby, but you should remember that this is still the same child you conceived. Although Down syndrome is now a part of his or her life, it isn’t who he or she is. You can grieve the loss of the baby for whom you had planned while still preparing to welcome this unique and wonderful child that will always be yours.

~Your baby is still more like other babies than different from them. The diagnosis of Down syndrome may leave you feeling as if your baby is unexpectedly quite different than the other babies you have had or know. You should remember that he or she will grow and develop just like any other child...perhaps more slowly, but just as surely.  And although you may have some things to learn about Down syndrome, you still need to prepare in all the typical ways to get ready for the birth of this precious person.

~No one can predict how intelligent, successful or independent your baby will be in the future. In recent years, the availability of early intervention and community-based rehabilitation services as well as more inclusive educational opportunities have allowed individuals with Down syndrome to achieve goals far beyond what was considered possible in the past. You and your baby will benefit from the network of special services available in the community.

~You are not alone. Understanding support and up-to-date information is available for you now. Like you, we are parents with children who have been diagnosed with Down syndrome and we are here to help.

A Special Letter

 

Dear Fellow Mom,

I feel compelled to write to you. I know nothing about you except that we share one common thread. We both received a Down syndrome diagnosis while pregnant. Mine came in the Spring of 2008 when I was 11 weeks pregnant with my fourth child. I can tell you two absolute truths. Number one is that Adam (now 16 months) and my three other children are the lights of my life. Number two is that if anyone had told me I would feel that way about him while I was still pregnant, I would never have believed them.

 

Read the whole letter here.

Contact BNA Down Syndrome Coordinator Kristin Pettler at 704.242.1641 or by email at benotafraidnc@live.com.