Hope's Embrace baby expo to make debut at convention center

Dec 09, 2023

Dusti Murray

Hope’s Embrace, a pregnancy care center based in Belton and Nicholasville, is bringing its “Bumps & Bundles Baby Expo” to Owensboro for the first time.

The free event will be from noon to 4 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Owensboro Convention Center.

According to the nonprofit’s website, Hope’s Embrace began in 2016 on the belief that “birth support should be accessible to all who want it” by “providing doulas to anyone who wants one regardless of the ability to pay” and be “alongside women and be there through pregnancy, labor, birth and postpartum.”

Dusti Murray, doula coordinator and treasurer for Hope’s Embrace, said the organization is a grant-funded program that extends its reach throughout the state with childbirth and newborn care education, while also assisting mothers “who are underserved.”

Murray serves a lot of clients in Owensboro, so it was important to bring the expo to the city, she said.

“We’ve actually (held the expo) in three areas of Kentucky, and this will be our last one for the season,” she said. “... There is a need here in Owensboro and the greater Owensboro area … and the surrounding areas.

“We’re having a lot of women deliver alone or not be educated on pregnancy or delivering their baby.”

The event will include a number of businesses on-site, including Owensboro Health, Deaconess Henderson Hospital, Courtney Winkle Doula Services, Hand Therapy Plus Total Body Rehab, KORT Physical Therapy, Kathryn’s Keepsake Ultrasounds, the National CMV Foundation and more.

The first 35 to 40 attendees will receive an “exclusive swag bag” for mothers and babies, with giveaways expected throughout the event where patrons can receive products such as diaper bags and baby wraps, Murray said.

Murray hopes the event — which has taken place in Campbellsville, Lexington and London — will have an attendance of about 200 people and that mothers can leave knowing they do not have to navigate motherhood alone.

“Bringing that education and just knowing that, ‘Hey, here’s your support system. Let’s work together. Let’s figure this out’ — it’s all about creating that web of support for women,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re doing it by yourself or if you’re married and doing it; it’s a new experience each time you go through it.

“We are hoping that they walk away with a sense of community; knowing not only their resources during pregnancy and birth, but postpartum as well. That’s a time in a person’s life that is very overlooked — you have the baby and it’s exciting, and then you’re kind of forgotten about.

“We’re hoping to bring all these businesses that are supporting mothers and just let women know, ‘Hey, there is a number you can call ... .’ ”

The event is sponsored by Humana and The Mindful Mama.

Vendor applications will be accepted until Sept. 4, Murray said.

For more information, email [email protected].

Dusti Murray

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